


Half and Half (Oblivious!Eren x Reader x Slight!Yandere Levi)

by Greenapples47



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M, Oblivious Eren Yeager, Reader-Insert, Titan Eren Yeager, What Was I Thinking?, Yandere Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), absent-minded eren, it pooped out of my head
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-16
Updated: 2016-09-21
Packaged: 2018-02-17 14:19:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 54
Words: 58,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2312648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Greenapples47/pseuds/Greenapples47
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You've been a member of the Survey Corps for quite some time, wondering when will humanity ever come a step close to victory. But events decide to turn up when you come across a strange titan during your expedition and a strict possessive corporal. Are things going to stir up a little between the titan and the corporal? You decide :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Delay

**Author's Note:**

> I came up with this story ever since I finished my damn essay. let out all the steam, simple. Let it all out...

"Cadet, pay attention up here please, this is extremely important." The instructor called out as he tapped the chalkboard, catching your attention from being dazed. 

"Ah, yes. I'm sorry." You nodded as you gave the instructor an apologetic bow, leaning in forward with your upper body, allowing the man to continue as he drew a circle on the chalkboard. 

"As you know, if we happen to spot an aberrant, you're given the cue to signal a black flare so that you'd notify other squads around you. We will be staying together in a perfect formation just like every time. Squad Levi will be leading squad 133. Squad 133, be sure to take notice on any danger nearby. It could cost your life if you're not careful. There will be no trees to attach our gears onto so you all must be prepared. As you may know, we can't determine aberrant titans. Their actions are unpredictable and..." The instructor looks over towards your direction, catching your face, inscribed with boring on. He squinted his eyes and frowned.

"Cadet!" He calls out to you again as you snapped out of your thoughts.

"Y-Yes?" You were startled by his sudden shout. 

"You seriously don't know what's going on?" He waves his hand around, tired by your dumbstruck.

"I uh..."

"I'll have to report you to Corporal Levi. Maybe he can explain this expedition---"

"Nonono! I completely understand this! Squad 143 follows squad Levi and we're able to use the forest to our advantage and---"

"I don't recall saying such nonsense." The instructor sighed as he crossed his arms, tapping his foot impatiently.

"We'll talk after this discussion." He groaned as you stared down in shame while your subordinates watched you in humiliation and defeat.

Strangely, you've been serving the Survey Corps for almost three years now. You've been through the same thing everyone has gone through, loss and sympathy. You've gotten so used to seeing your subordinates' corpse, it was like a daily routine for you. You stopped crying after two years. You stopped being half the human you once were as a whole, due to the fact that the titans you've eliminated over the years were humans, just like you. But there was nothing to stop them. No cure, no miracle. So how do you understand a titan when all they do is eat during the day and sleep during the night?

When class ended, you walked up to the instructor, bowing to him again and apologizing for your stale behavior. 

"I don't want your apologies. A thousand times you've been a little.... spaced out. Is there something wrong, (Name)?" He asked as you shook your head.

"No, I've been... Thinking too much, that's all."

"Well, I hoped you were thinking about this, but..."

"Yes, I'm very sorry." 

"Ah, there he is. Right on time." The instructor says as you turned around to hear the door slide open.

 

"Brat." The voice spoke with a click of his tongue.

As you turned around, you felt a slap to the back of your head with a paper rolled into a cylinder.

"Ow...." You rubbed the pain you have earned from class.

"Your head is hollow. Pay attention in class, you brainless brat." The short man slaps your head again, only this time, a little softer than last time.

You nodded in response, cradling your head as the man approached to the instructor.

"Lance Corporal Levi. Good to see you." The instructor greeted.

"I see that she hasn't been focusing on the expedition." Levi scoffed.

"Yes. I'm afraid that she might not have what it takes to go on this one--"

"I have what it takes! I swear! Just because I survived for this long, it doesn't make me a rookie!" You burst.

"If you do, you'd be paying attention to our procedure that we recently discussed, cadet." The instructor stated.

"I know what I'm doing!" You claimed.

"Don't raise your voice to your superior, brainless brat." Levi lifts his arm to strike you again but you covered it, forcing him to retreat instead.

"I honestly do. Besides, If I die, I wouldn't be much of a loss. You said it yourself, Corporal." You rubbed your hands as the instructor stared at you.

Levi didn't want to respond to your statement. Actually, how would he? Sometimes he didn't mean it. Sometimes he did.

"Come to my office, now." Levi demanded as he grabbed your arm and dragged you away from the classroom.

 

"Hey, Hey! Easy!" You tried to release your arm from his grasp but he was stronger than you to clutch onto you.

"What do you think you're doing? Are you even in your right mind?" Levi turned to you, letting you go as you jerked away.

"What are you talking about?" You rubbed your arm that was stamped red, outlining Levi's hand that was now imprinted like a tattoo.

"You've been absent-minded since yesterday. What the hell's going on?"

"What!? That's insane---" You shrugged it off and walked away but Levi stops you.

"You're hiding something. What the absolute fuckery is wrong with you, huh?" He nods at you once while saying that last word.

"I don't know, sometimes I just... Doze off, ya know?" You shrugged again.

"That's not a valid answer, cadet."

"Corporal, trust me. I know what I'm doing on this expedition---"

"Look, if anything happens to you, it's on me. Understand?" Levi warned you.

"I got this, Levi. Besides, what could go wrong?" 

 

 

 


	2. Preparation

As you walked passed your superior, you went back to your thoughts that were interefered in the class before.

_Do titans have families?_

_Why don't they have a digestive system?_

_Are they still human on the inside even though they're cannibals on the out?_

You wanted to know if there's any human alive enough to control a titan. Your theories and thoughts consumed your mind and your eyes seemed to be blinded because you bumped into Hanji.

"Whoa there! Didn't see ya!" Hanji apologized but really, it was your fault.

You didn't get the chance to apologize to her and claim that it was you who had walked into her. Hanji basically straight up shut you out when she bursts out laughing while gripping onto your shoulders, leaning her weight against you.

"HAHAHAHA!! Guess what I found out!" Hanji shouted in your face as you slightly pulled away from her.

"What?"

"Just guess!" She shook your shoulder once, feeling an itch to spill her news.

"You captured a titan?" You spoke hesitantly.

"Oh, I wish! But that's not it!" Hanji shook her head as she leaned away from you with hands off your shoulder blades.

"Then what's the news? I'd like to know." You said as Hanji tightened her hands into balls of fists.

"I've gathered my research and collection from the previous expeditions, and I noticed that there's been a pattern, depending on the situation." Hanji fixes her glasses as she continued on.

"Human footprints. Normal human footprints roaming outside the walls!" Hanji squealed.

"You mean... There's someone out there surviving on their own?" You raised a brow, confused of how that was an important piece to the crazy yet wise scientist.

"Don't you get it? How are you going to survive beyond the walls as a puny human?? And what kind of soldier takes off his boots and walk barefoot? I've constructed a theory that humans are capable of transforming into titans!" Hanji's voice was lowered in excitement, as if it was one of her deepest secrets.

"What? Really?" You blinked a couple times.

"If we capture one, maybe we can form an alliance between them and come one step closer to victory! What do you think (Name)? Having a _good_ titan on our side?" 

"I guess you're right. But how do we know? and where do their human bodies sleep if they are in control of their own titan form?" You asked.

"I guess I'll have to figure that out." Hanji sighed deeply as she scratched her head.

"Don't worry. The expeditions are tomorrow. I hope your theory is right, Hanji." You nodded in farewell as Hanji walked off.

"Yeah, I hope so too. Good luck tomorrow!" Hanji wished to you as you returned the same luck towards her.

You walked into your dorm and closed the door. You hear the girls whispering about the expedition coming up tomorrow. 

_"I hope I don't eaten tomorrow."_

_"I hope the titan doesn't rip my body to shreds."_

_"I hope we see each other after the expedition is over."_

 

As for you, your fear of titans were no longer a part of you. You never thought about dying. What you thought was the others who have fought beside you. Hanji, Erwin... And most important of all, Levi. You've been in squad Levi for the longest time anyone has ever been assigned to. You were practically hand-picked by Levi due to your skills. Before you came to the Survey Corps, you were ranked fifth out of ten. But your strategies in surviving had helped you over the years. One time during an expedition you were able to survive without your gear for a night until Levi had found you. Strange... Levi should've thought you were dead by that time but turns out, he doubted it and searched for you. One thing for sure Levi never doubted you. He knew you were one of those who knows what their doing but... sometimes not. 

 

A knock was heard on the door during the night. You quickly changed into your nightgown and answered the door.

"Corporal? What are you doing here, it's getting a little late." You said as he stared at you.

"It's only six, stupid." He scowled silently.

"Uhh..." You awkwardly say as he sighed.

"No, you're not stupid.... I'm sorry." He says as he turns away, though you noticed a tint of light pink was shaded over his cheeks.

"It's okay." You scoffed softly.

"Actually, I'd like you to come with me to my office. There's something.... That I must confess to you. And I need to do it now." Levi grabs ahold of your hand as you allowed him to guide you to his room.

The hallways were always quiet and no one was around. You entered Levi's office and sat down on the chair as he closes the door and walks up to you, crossing his arms and facing away from you while tapping his foot.

"What is it that you need to confess, Levi?" You asked.

"Well, It's been two years and 278 days since I recruited you..." He cleared his throat.

"you remembered?" 

"Of course I do, you--..."

_brainless brat_

Levi was going to insult you again but held back his tongue.

"Anyways what I wanted to say was...." He closed his eyes and concentrated on the ground as you watched him in curiosity.

"I can't do it unless you stand up and hold out your hand." Levi sighed.

"What?"

"Just do what I say. Stand up and hold out your hand." Levi holds out his as you stood up.

"Which hand should I---"

"I don't care, you---"

_idiot_

Levi held back again from insulting you once more.

"Look, give it here." Levi takes your right hand and holds it with both of his. You could feel warmth and a little sweat in his palm.

"You look really nervous, Levi. Are you okay?" You asked as his face became red.

"Shush!" Levi silenced you as he thought for a minute to spit out his confession while licking his bottom dry lip.

"(Name)... It's been two years and 278 days since I recruited you." He took a deep breath and paused for about ten seconds.

"Levi?--" 

"I love you." He blurted out as his hands tightened yours.

"Ehhhhhhh..." You tried to pull away but Levi began to notice this, pulling you towards him.

"What's the matter?" Levi says as you tried to peel his hands away.

"That's very considerate of you, Corporal but..." You laughed nervously.

"You do feel the same way, yes?" Levi asks curiously.

"Uhhh..." You tried pulling away again but now Levi uses one hand to grab your arm.

"You love me, right?" He came in closer, taking every step forward every time you took a step back.

"I....." You were now pushed against the wall as he traps you with his arms.

"I want you to give me an answer before you can leave. Otherwise, I don't mind keeping you here all night." Levi spoke in a soft low tone.

"Uhh.. No?" You answered hesitantly.

"No?" He repeated.

"No?" He says again.

"That's not a valid answer, love." He says as you yelped, his face inches away from yours.

"After all these years, I've looked after you... And you decided to reject my feelings for you?" Levi felt hurt in his chest as you closed your eyes.

"I don't know. Please, just give me time--"

"There is no time. You should've thought about it before I confessed."

"I didn't know!" 

Levi didn't give you an option at all. You had to say it if you want to leave. 

"What's your answer?" Levi says as you covered your face to protect yourself from his.

"Yes." You said quietly, almost audible for him to hear.

"What was that?" Levi asked as he stroked your silk hair.

"I... Feel... The same... For you..." You blushed as he chuckled.

"You belong to no one else but me, okay?" Levi tells you as he releases you.

"Thank you... Corporal...." You spoke.

"Are you still thinking with that head of yours?"

"huh?" You turned around as he shoved his hands in his pocket, leaning against his desk, watching you.

"I don't want you to get hurt. And it would be a shame to lose you... That's why I was so worried about you earlier." Levi explained.

"I'll be fine...." You responded.

"Oh and one more thing, (Name)..." Levi called out as you stopped your tracks.

"Y-Yes, Levi?" Your voice, nearly trembled and your face became hot.

"Sorry about the..." He pats the back of his head as you nodded.

"It's okay... You're the corporal." 

"Levi. Please call me Levi from now on." He noted.

"O-okay...."

"Goodnight, (Name)."

"G-Goodnight.." You said as you grabbed the hinge of the door. you tried to turn it but.

"Uhm... Levi?"

"Yes?"

_"Why did you lock the door?"_ You asked.

"Ah, right. I forgot. I always lock the door whenever I close it." He lied.

Levi takes out his key from his pocket and unlocks the door for you.

"Goodnight." He says to you again as he kisses your forehead and releases you from his office.

 

 


	3. Sight

"Alright! Let's go through the procedure one more time!" Your instructor announced as you walked outside the wall along with your horse.

Today was the expedition, which meant that many of your comrades were going to die. You thought about Levi's sudden confession. He always did things in an organized manner. Never once would he turn his reports late or anything of a sort. Levi was never delayed. But the only thing that he did wrong was confess to you on the day before the expedition; and that was pretty bad timing, almost too late. But why now? And since when did he feel this way? It was too sudden. You couldn't sleep last night. It was as if Levi was watching you everywhere. How unusual...

You feel a soft pat on your back, snapping your thoughts in two. 

"Are you alright?" Levi appears from behind as you as you shrugged off his hand.

"Yeah, I'm good." You spoke softly.

"Alright then. Get on your horse, we're leaving as soon as squad 128th has given us the signal to move out." Levi warned.

You nodded in response as you saddle up on your horse. Your horse walked alongside with Levi, giving him a better view of your face. You turned away and stared on the ground, allowing him to retreat and set his eyes straight, searching for the signal. And as soon as you saw a green smoke that was shot in the air, you and your teammates began to run in formation while squad 133 followed your from behind. Obviously, you had no idea how the plan went so you decided to just go along with it. The herd of horses picked up their feet, their hooves imitating the sound of castanets. Levi led the squad as you followed behind his rear. The day became dark and cloudy. You knew the weather was going to rain down so you covered your head with your hood. 

"Damn it. Of all the days, rain just had to pick this day." You grumbled as light rain fell from the sky and created mud from the ground.

Flare signals are unable to be signaled when rain showers upon them. Without the flares, Levi didn't know what plan B was. He thought of a way to get another signal but it's been quite some time since the flares had stopped gliding through the sky, for the weather began to rain down hard. It was a little difficult to see because of the little drops that constantly drops on your face. A couple times, your horse stumbled and it made you worry. 

"Corporal! what should we do? The others won't be able to signal flares for us to see!" One of your teammates shouted.

"Just keep running. We'll figure something out." Levi responded as you continued to ride on with your squad. Your clothes were wet and your strands of hair was in your face. You quickly wiped your eyes getting a more clear view. 

Suddenly, you felt a vibration from the ground. Loud stomps were getting closer and closer, it sounded like it was sprinting.

"Brace yourselves." Levi warned the squad as you readied your gear.

Some of your teammates whimpered in fear as others struggled to see anything in their blinded sights.

"This isn't good! We should head a different---" You were cut off by the sight of an aberrant that sprinted towards your direction.

Your horse panicked and slipped into the mud. You rolled out of control due to the speed of the horse until you stopped and landed on your stomach. Unfortunately, squad Levi was deformed after the aberrant ran into them, separating the group along with squad 133. You felt a headache and your hands and knees were scraped from the small pebbles which hid beneath the puddles.

"Ow!" You got up on your knees and held your injured hand, making a hissing sound from your mouth. 

You hear horses whinnying and running off. You saw that your horse had a difficult time standing from the slippery mud puddles that were formed. The rain soon became aggressive, adding thunder to the storm. You cursed the weather under your breath as you approached your horse. Before you could reach your companion, a shadow of a foot was casted upon you as you looked up. The titan stomps on the horse and squash the poor animal into mush. 

"Wha!!" You panicked and backed away from the titan, only to fall on your butt. 

The titan smiled upon your form as you glared at it. 

"I'll kill you!--" 

You noticed that your gear was broken from your fall. You couldn't control it when you tried to press the buttons. 

"What the hell???" You tried clicking them again but it wouldn't budge.

You looked up again to see the titan reaching in to grab you. 

You didn't know how to respond. You couldn't scream for help. You were doomed. All you could do, was curse.

"Is that all you got?! Sure, you may have killed my horse but know this: I will take you down whether you eat me or not!!" You waited for the titan to grab you and consume you but was it just mere luck that another titan appeared and lunged at the other?

You covered your face, afraid of taking damage. You watched between your fingers that a strange titan was fighting against the one who planned to eat you. 

"Huh?" You thought as you watched that titan take down your enemy, violently tearing the thing into shreds.

One thing for sure, the titan had black hair covering it's face. It's teeth was on display and he didn't look like the rest. You covered your ears as the victorious titan roared after killing your opponent. You watched as the titan stared at you with green, almost turquoise orbs. It wanted to approach to you now. You took a step back.

"H-Hey! Don't make me slice you!!" You feared that the titan was going to tear you apart just like he did to the other one. With that, you dropped your gear and decided to do what's best:

Run.


	4. Needs

You ran as fast as you could, away from the titan but it only took him two steps until he was able to grab your shirt with his thumb and index finger. He lifts you up in the air, leveling you with him, eye to eye. You hung from your shirt he pinched from behind. It was as if he was the cat who caught the mouse. You watched him as he watched your teeny form scowl at him.

"Go ahead! Eat me, you damn monster! You're not human anymore!! This world is fucking shitty anyway!!! Kill me dammit!!" You yelled from the top of your lungs as the monster stares at you without any response to your feisty behavior. 

Instead, the titan placed you in his gigantic palm as gently as he could. 

"What the hell are you waiting for!? The others!? Forget them!!" You screamed as the titan continued to ignore you. 

He decided to cup his hands together to shield your from the rain. It was very dark from your perspective. He didn't eat you. He simply _captured_ you. Lost in confusion, you hear stomps made by his feet, noting that he was walking while trapping you in his hands. 

"Hey!! Get me the hell out if you're not going to eat me, you bastard!! Let me out!!" You yelled as you tried to stand up but couldn't balance your weight. His hand was too shaky from walking, making you stumble on his palm every time you attempted to stand.

"Where are you taking me!?" You asked him various questions of where your destination will be but you recieved no answer. 

You were getting cold and your body temperature was decreasing rapidly because of the cold rain that felt like ice. You decided to lay upon the warm palms of the strange titan and sleep, waiting for your fate to decide. Afraid that you would catch a cold, you tried to cover your body with your jacket that was protected by your cape. It was a little drenched, but not as much as your green hoody. You shivered under the coldness that was seeping throughout your entire body. From your head to your toe, you couldn't help but feel numb. Your cuts on your knees and fingers stung you constantly. You felt you could die anytime now...

 

You suddenly feel comfort and warmth. You groaned in tiredness as you peeled your eyelids. You gasped as you woke up. You looked around the place you were in. It was dark and quiet, except for the rain outside. You soon realized you were in a cave. The cavern was silent and the place you slept in was heated. You stood up and walked towards the outside, where rain was pouring. 

"Who the hell saved me?" You thought as you looked outside and wondered.

You remembered an aberrant had interfered your regular formation with your squad and separated you from them. You were then saved by a titan who battled against the aberrant. And after the titan won, he takes you in and...

"ugh... My head..." You felt your forehead.

You nearly fainted until you were supported with strong arms holding onto your fallen form. You watched and met the eyes of a...

_human boy._

"AAAHHH!!!!!!" You screamed as you pushed the boy away.

He was tall and medium build. His hair was chocolate brown and his body was slim... Only... He was completely bare naked.

"Who the heck are you!?? P-PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!!!" You covered your eyes as you stepped back from him.

The boy was confused. Unable to comprehend your words, he walked towards you with an innocent look in his face.

"NO! STOP!!" You held out a palm to signal him to stop but he noticed that your fingers were cut. Therefore, he grabbed ahold of your hand.

"HEY!! I said stop!!" You squealed as your face became red. You removed your hand from his grasp as he came close to you.

He grabs both of your wrists, forcing you to look into his facial features. You opened one eye while fighting him for a brief moment in which he claimed victory in the end. You stared at his green orbs, remembering them as the ones from the titan... It all makes sense...

"You're..... You're that titan..." You became calm as he smiled in confusion while he fixed his eyes on yours.

"W-Why did you kidnap me!?" You asked as you swiped your hands away from him and took a step back.

"I-I appreciate you helping me but not this! Where the hell are your clothes!?" You questioned him again.

He didn't answer. He just stares at you, now in sadness because you yelled at him.

"Can't you talk??" You asked.

He honestly had no clue what you were talking about, considering the fact that he is a titan.

"Do you understand my language?" You tried to express your word through sign language but he didn't know that either. 

You sighed in frustration that an illiterate boy captured you and kept you in a cave. to make matters worse, he knows _nothing._

You walked away from him and found two stones on the ground. You picked them up and slid them against each other like a match in a rough way, hard enough to make a hint of fire. The boy kneels beside you as you ignored him. You did it once again and finally created a flame of warmth. 

"Don't touch it. It'll go out." You said as you looked at him and shook your head, pointing at the fire.

He somewhat understood that part and watched the fire glow while you took off your jacket and sat beside the the fire on the opposite side from where the mysterious boy sat. He noticed where you sat and came to you, sitting beside you and staring at you.

"What?" You asked as the curious boy touches your face with his cold hands.

"Your hands are ice cold, where are your clothes?" You asked once again as you stopped him from touching your nose and ears. He looks at you in confusion, as if he didn't do anything wrong. You thought for a moment and decided to take off your pants while he watched. Besides, he doesn't know anything, right?

You wrapped your cape around your waist like a dress to cover your legs and handed the boy your pair of pants. Besides, they were a little big for you so you made sure your tightened your belt when you wore it.

"They are a men's size. I wore them today because I got blood all over mines. You know how it goes, a girl can't control her own period." You sighed. You obviously knew that he had no idea what you just said. Instead, he took the pants and began to wear it like you've worn it. The boy was very observative towards you if he knew how to put on a pair of pants. After he wore it, you sighed in relief. 

"That's much better." You smiled as did he. 

The boy sat down beside you and held out your fingers.

"What are you doing?" You asked as he scrutinized every little detail of your dirty hands, as if it was something he's never seen before.

The boy began touching your body, his smile growing wider each time he found a body part of you. And when his palm hovered over your breast, you slapped his hand away and moved to a different spot.

"D-Don't touch me there! Pervert!" You scowled as he looked at you in a clueless way.

The boy then smiles again as he tried to approach to you. He holds out his hand and compares it with yours, taking your hand once again and placing his palm against yours.

His smiled grew as he laced his fingers with yours.

"... You're just like us." You spoke.

Hanji had told you earlier that humans are capable of turning into titans. You felt as if you had accomplished that theory after finding the clueless boy who transformed into a titan to save your life. Heck, the boy knows nothing. It was as if he didn't know that there would be humans such as him. He had the same brain as any other titan, except he didn't eat humans. To be precise, you were the first human the boy has ever spotted. 

"You're human. Half titan." You stated as he began to wrap his arms around you.

The boy was very happy that he had found someone else who was the same species as him. He was glad that he wasn't the only one in the world, and that there are people like him out there somewhere. With that, the boy tightened his embrace as you felt his cold body pressed against yours.

"You're so cold. You should stay by the fire..." You suggested as you wrapped your jacket over his shoulders. 

"Do you have a name?" You attempted to ask, hoping to have an answer from him.

He watched your mouth move as you waited but nothing came out of his mouth. The boy didn't know how to speak. He didn't even have a name...

"If you don't have a name... I can call you something.." You wondered as he grinned in happiness. 

 

_"How about... Eren?"_


	5. Search

"Dammit, where the hell is she?" Levi growled as he continued to search with his horse.

The rain was still pouring down him as he abandoned his squad and went after you. He remembered that the aberrant had charged straight towards his direction and ran into him. Levi was able to avoid the aberrant along with his horse but most of his teammates did not make it. With that, he continued on running, regardless of the people who were left behind. There was no time and the others must've been ahead, waiting for Levi and his squad. He still heard horses behind him, meaning that half of the people managed to make it through the aberrant without getting hurt.

"Corporal! We lost a few members back there! We need to--"

"No. We must to keep up with the rest of the group. If we fall behind, we'll end up dead." Levi announced.

The members stayed quiet as they followed Levi, staying on his heels. They continued on forward, hearing loud noises from behind getting quieter and quieter. After a short pause, Levi and his squad hears a titan roaring from the back.

"We need to keep moving." Levi refused to look back. He knew that you were left behind. Honestly, he couldn't bare the fact that you were out of his sight. With that, Levi made sure he reached the checkpoint before he could search for you. As soon as they reached the forest, Levi spotted two squad members resting above the tree branches. Levi signals his teammates to use their maneuver gear as they obeyed. Levi stayed on his horse while the rest of the members flew up to the tree and stayed with the remaining. 

"I'll be back." Levi called out as he turns around and rode out of the forest.

"Why is he going back there? That's suicide!" One of the Corps members say.

"He's Lance Corporal Levi. There's no way titans would stand a chance against him. He'll come back, don't worry." The others responded.

Now that Levi reached the area where the aberrant had fallen, he jumps off his horse to loot. He found many of the members who died under the weight of the aberrant's foot and your horse's corpse.When he spotted your broken 3D Maneuver gear, he clicked his tongue, disbelieving the idea of your defeat. He knew that you were still alive.... He wanted to believe you were.

_"I will find you."_

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

"Eeeeeeerrrreeen." You said slowly as the clueless boy observed you.

".....?" Eren tried to speak but as usual, nothing came out.

"You need to try. Here, try making a sound like, boom! Crash! Pow!" You shouted the onomatopoeia words at him as he leaned away from you. Eren smiled, able to comprehend you as he opened his mouth. He then shapes his lips in an "O" and began blowing in your face. Eren had automatically failed.

"Nonono, it's simple, really." You rested your palm against his warm chest as he stared at you.

"Eeeerrreeen." You spoke again as he nodded.

"Ehh...." He makes a small sound as you nodded.

"E-Ehhh...." He tries to speak his name while you encouraged him.

"Yes, that's right. Ehhhh..." 

"Ehhhh-Ren." You say simultaneously. 

"That's right! Now say it again." You grinned as he licked his dry lips and opened his mouth.

"Ehhh-Ren." He says hesitantly.

His voice sounded cute and shy. Strangely, you adored this clueless boy. It was like teaching a baby how to speak.

"Yes, your name is Eren." You patted on the left side of his chest.

"Eren!" He spoke confidently as he rests his hand on your breast, imitating the same gesture as you did to him.

You quickly removed his hand and shook your head.

"No, you're Eren." You placed his hand on his chest as he pats his own chest.

"Eren!" He spoke.

"mmmhm!" You nodded a little.

"(First)." You said.

".....(First)?" He repeated in a slow pace.

"My name is (First). Your name is Eren." You explained.

"(First)... (First)!" Eren pats your chest, only a little higher above your breast.

"Yes, I'm (First)." You laughed as did Eren.

"(First)!" Eren embraces you while you tried to shove him away.

"Ehhh Yeah... Let's keep our distance, Eren." You were able to remove him from you while he made a sad face, indicating that he was a bit hurt.

"I wonder when the rain will stop." You sighed.

"... rain..." He repeats.

"Rain is water from the sky." You explained.

"Rain... Water." He looks out with you as he felt the drops of rain hit his face.

"You'll catch a cold if you stay out there." You warned him while you dragged him back into the cave.

"Cold." He says as he rubs his arms.

"You need to stay warm."

"Warm?" He asks.

"Yes. You have to stay warm by the fire." You tell him as he felt your hand holding onto his.

"Warm." He tightens the grip on your hand while you guide him back to the fire.

"(First).... warm." He rubs your hands, noticing the cuts from your fingers. The blood was now dry, and it stung whenever he touched them.

"Thank you for saving me." You say, allowing him to skim through the cuts.

"Thank you." Eren repeats as he placed his fingers over yours.

"Thank you (First)." Eren brings your hand to his lips as he kisses them. His hot breath warmed up your cold fingers. You blushed and retreated your hands to your side.

Eren was a strange human being. You thought how lonely it must have been for Eren to stay out beyond the walls with no one to keep him company. Eren wanted to savor you. From the moment he laid eyes on you, he wanted to be inseparable with you. He wanted you to show him the things he's never seen or explored. He wanted you to teach him the ways of human nature. But most of all, he wanted to stay with you without breaking away.

"Hey Eren! The rain had stopped! Come on! We gotta get you out of here and back into the walls." You dragged him out as he dumbfoundedly gazed upon you. He saw that you were excited. Whatever the deal was, if you're excited, then he's excited. 

"Get out! Back to Wall!" Eren shouted as you nodded.

"Hurry! We need to find the others! I know someone who'd love to meet you!" You picked up your feet and ran with Eren in search of Hanji.

 

Ironically, Levi was searching for you...


	6. Acceleration

"Eren, can you transform into a titan any time you want?" You ask while you walked with him in the open fields where no titans are visible.

Eren nods in response, keeping his eyes on you, ignoring the fact that he stumbled a couple times while he strolled.

"I need to go find my teammates. I wonder how Levi and the others are doing..." You spoke.

Eren frowned in curiosity as he heard you say the name "Levi."

"Levi?" Eren repeated.

"Ah, yes. He's the Corporal. He and I have been fighting together with the others for years against the titans."

"Titan?" 

"Those giants who eat us. If we don't fight against them, humanity will cease to exist." You explained.

Eren remembered that you told him he was half human, _half titan_.

"I'm... Titan?" Eren asks, pointing at himself as you gave him a hesitant nod.

"Ehhh, sort of. I don't know. You're half and half." You shrugged as he scratched his head.

"Are your feet cold?" You asked.

Eren couldn't feel his feet. They were too numb to be felt.

"Feet?" Eren looked down at his dirty bare feet and shook his head.

"Yes." He indirectly responded.

 

"Well, we gotta get you to my people so you can stay warm and safe. Staying out here is very dangerous. What do you eat out here?" You questioned him.

Eren couldn't respond to that. He knows what he eats, it's just that, he doesn't even know what it's called.

"Do you eat animals? Berries? edible trees or something?" You raised a brow, waiting for his answer.

"Human!! Titan!" Eren shouted as he pointed west.

You turned to see steam released into the atmosphere from afar. You couldn't make it out but you were able to see the soldiers, gliding into the sky and taken one by one from the titans that were crowding them. You couldn't hear anything from over there. 

"Eren! Can you control your titan powers?" You grabbed a hold of his shoulders.

He nodded a yes response while you wore a concerned face.

"Will you transform and take me over there where the humans are? Please??" You pointed in that same direction while Eren thought for a moment.

He didn't want you to be in danger anymore. But if he didn't want to take you there, that would mean he was against your orders. Eren would never try to go against you. He strictly wanted to do as told. Only by _you._

 

"Soldiers! Hold your weapons! We need to retreat now!" Hanji commanded, keeping her distance from the titans around her while a few of her surviving men followed her, riding on their horses in attempt to escape. They lost too many men. Three squads were down, half of Hanji and Erwin's squad were still alive, and the remaining soldiers from the other squads were struggling to keep up, helping one another. The ground was still slippery and muddy while Eren's now shifted titan form sprints to the area where war was being held at. He clamped you in his hands, making a small hole, enough for you to see what was going on. Until it was clear for you, you commanded Eren to help your comrades and aid them to fight against the giant titans who were about the same size as him.

"Be careful not to kill any of the squadrons! Make sure you don't kill the humans!" You ordered Eren as he obeyed and rested you on his shoulders.

"Titan afoot!!! Coming straight at us!!!" The men shouted as Hanji sees Eren's titan form running towards their direction.

"I've never seen that one before!" Hanji commented as she rode on her horse, avoiding the titans.

You held onto Eren while he fought against the titans brutally, tearing them one by one. The soldiers froze in fear as they watched Eren angrily battling against the titans. Eren made sure nothing would reach you and keep you out of danger... Until an arm came and swept you off of his shoulder.

"AH!" You panicked, thinking it was a titan who managed to grab you. You turned around to see that you were flying in the sky with an arm to support your weight.

"L-Levi!" You called as he held onto you tight, getting you away from the battlefield and into the safe area where most of the soldiers stood, along with Hanji and Erwin.

After Levi had set you down, he holds you in his arms, hoping you'd know that he was concerned about you. 

"I'm so glad I found you." Levi pulls away and noticed that you wore your cape around your waist like a skirt that dropped down above your knees.

"Where the hell are your pants?" Levi asks.

"Forget about that! We need to get as many men to help that titan defeat the others! He's on our side!" You pointed straight at Eren while he struggled to fight against the titans. 

Levi looks to see that Eren was wearing down from exhaustion. He was using too much force on his muscles to eliminate every single one of his opponents. 

"What the hell is that?" Levi wondered.

"We have to help him!--"

"No. Have you seen everyone? They can't fight against those things. Plus, I'm almost out of gas for my gear. I would rather not take the risk. Now get on Hanji's horse and get out of here." Levi demanded.

"B-But...!" Many minutes later, Eren took down the final titan and began to collapse.

Smoke was everywhere around that area. And the bodies began to evaporate into thin air. You saw most of your men who volunteered to help Eren come out of the smoke screen. it was far too difficult to depict which one was Eren, now that all of the titans looked rotten and old. With that, you pushed Levi away when he was holding onto you, and ran to find Eren.

Levi was able to catch up with you and grab a hold of your arm.

"What are you doing?? Stop." Levi asked.

"Let me go!! I need to find him!" You struggled to get away from Levi but his grip just tightens.

"Who?" Levi questione you while you managed to break apart from him.

"Eren!!" You ran away from the confused man.

As you approached to the scene, Eren began to emerge from his own titan form from the area of the neck. There, he seemed tired and almost half asleep. You rushed to his side and supported his weight as he leaned against your chest.  You wrapped your arms around his half-naked form (Thanks to your pants) and rested your head on his neck.

"Thank you so much, Eren. You helped us." You told him, making sure he hears every single word you said. And he did.

Eren's tired arms began to rise and cling to your shirt until Levi came between the two of you and rudely shoved the poor boy away as he held onto you.

"Levi what are you--!"

"Secure this monstrous beast. Make sure it doesn't escape. If it does, kill it." Levi ordered his men as they obeyed and dragged Eren away with his arms.

"He's not a thing!" You fought Levi again but this time, you were practically losing.

"(First), listen to me. You're more precious to me than anyone else. I need you to be safe. Go with Hanji. We'll take care of this." Levi commanded.

"L-Levi!"

"Go. Now."

You began to calm down and forfeit to fight against Levi, hesitantly obeying his orders. 

You hoped Levi was doing the right thing...


	7. Raid

A few hours passed and the Survey Corps had returned from the expedition, only most of them did not make it back as usual. Many people sobbed in agony and you buried your face in Hanji's back from behind, avoiding the cries and questions the villagers were asking about their dear family members. After you passed the angry and depressed villagers, you wanted to talk with Hanji.

"Hanji... Where's Eren?" You asked silently.

"Hah? That titan who sided with us?"

She felt you nod against her back as she sighed.

"They're taking him into custody. Levi and the others are deciding what to do with him.--"

"What?" You raised your head.

"Yes. It's unknown if this... Particular boy wants to cooperate with us. Either we kill him, or use him." Hanji explained.

"But he's already decided!"

"Ah-Ah-ah. The court."

"Court? You mean... The courthouse will make their own choice??" 

"Yes... Honestly, we should take this man in consideration of staying with us." Hanji replied.

"I think so too..."

  
Within a few days of recovery and all, you and the Survey Corps decided to head to the courthouse where everyone was held at. The other corps attended the meeting. And when you arrived, you quickly asked for permission to see Eren. He was kept in the basement, where he was under close surveillance. Many times, you tried to convince the soldiers who guarded Eren to allow you to see him. And after many pleads and begs, they finally let you in. You ran through the long dark hallways that were lit by torches until you saw that Levi was standing against the wall while Erwin sat on a chair, staring at the cell from across.

"You shouldn't be here, (First)," Levi sighed, not leaving his eyes on Eren who was kept behind bars.

"Eren??" You ignored Levi, calling out for the boy.

"(First)?" Eren replied.

Chains rattled as he got up and crawled towards the bars as close as he could reach. There was nothing for Eren to lay on. The cell was completely cold and empty, it suits a murderer or a psychotic person. You grabbed onto the rusted bars, getting a closer look at Eren's state. He was given clothes to wear: a plain white dress shirt and the pants that you had given him. For a moment, he seemed like any other villager in town but boy, is he something else.

"(First)!" Eren called to you as he tried to reach out to you, wanting you to hold him.

"Eren! It's okay! You'll be alright!"

"(First)...!" You noticed that Eren's neck was also chained. It was as if he was kept like a wild animal.

"I'm impressed. The thing actually talks." Levi commented.

What ticked off Levi was the fact that the only vocabulary that Eren knows was your name and his. Basically, yours. He felt annoyed every time Eren called your name. How dare he address his love by her first name?

"Commander, please tell me we're taking Eren to be a part of the Survey Corps." You turned to Erwin as he stroked his chin.

"I'm thinking about it. Though I'm not really sure." Erwin responded.

"Please. I'll do anything to have Eren on our side."

"Really? Anything?" Levi's full attention was on you after you had stated that, making you nervous.

"I promise you Commander. I'll teach Eren our ways of human life. He's been surviving on his own all this time. He's been lonely out there. Please."

"Eren? That's his name?" Erwin asks.

"W-Well... Yes. I gave him that name." You responded as Eren nodded.

"He really is a dog. untamed and filthy like an animal." Levi stated.

"Eren? Are you still there?" You called out.

"(First)... (First)..." Eren sounded as if he was going to cry, pleading you to hold him as soon as possible.

"We'll get through this, Eren. I promise you." You comforted him a little before standing up and leaving.

"Seems to me that Eren is a fond of you, cadet. Therefore, I'm thinking about having this boy join us." Erwin commented.

"Thank you, Commander." 

"No, don't thank me. You should get the credit for finding this young man."

"If we're going to keep him..." Levi approaches towards the cell, gripping his hands onto the bars and glaring at the innocent boy.

"Then I'll make sure he's behaving like the rest of us. Otherwise, I'm capable of killing him before he does anything rash." Levi warned Eren.

"You're dismissed." Levi says as you nodded and walked off.

 

Time skip----

 

During the trial, Eren was held with cuffs behind his back to secure his hands. He was literally the center of the attention, kneeling on the floor and observing the courtroom. Everyone whispered and murmured about Eren. You stood beside Erwin and the others. Eren's eyes were laid on you and only you. He knew no one else. All he wants, was to reunite with you. WIth that, he wore a pained expression in which Levi found disturbingly disgusting. During the trial, many people shouted out their arguments and others just wanted to insult Eren.

"Don't you get it? He's just like those monsters outside of these walls!"

"He's nothing but an imbecile who disguises himself as a human!"

"Maybe this monster is the reason why titans exist!!"

Many people agreed to the last argument and began a brief riot against Eren, pointing and scowling at the poor boy.

"Settle down, all of you. Nile, what is it that you want to say?" The judge announced.

"Your honor, what if this monster is brought here to spy on all of us to observe us and eventually kill us?"

"That is the most idiotic theory I've ever heard, Nile." Levi scoffed as he crossed his arms. 

"That's what they want us to think!" One of the priests say.

You wanted to desperately jump in and support Eren with your argument but people were speaking out of turn and others just want to blurt out nonsense.

"I say we kill this monster! This savage beast has been living out there for God knows how long! It's impossible for a human being to survive out there! He's just like them!! A savage monster!!" The priest shouted.

The rest of the people called out hurtful names towards Eren. As for him, he didn't know how to calm the crowd down. He just stares at you, hoping you'd help him now.

"Kill him!"

"Skin him!"

"Slice him into pieces!!"

"BURN HIM!"

You couldn't take it anymore. People were being too ridiculous to blame on Eren for all the damage that has been done to earth. 

"Hurry! Take him down before he turns into a titan!" One of the members of the Military police say as they pointed their rifle at Eren. Once the rifle clicked, you ran and jumped in front of Eren, shielding him from the guy who planned to shoot him.

"STOP IT! DROP YOUR WEAPON!" You screamed as you held Eren's head, kneeling in front of him and covering his ears so no one could say a hurtful thing to him.

"This boy saved my life when I was confronted by an aberrant! My gear was broken and he came just in time to rescue me! If it hadn't been for him, I wouldn't be standing where I am right now!" You announced.

Eren buried his head in your neck, forming small tears that were seeping through his eyes. The crowd was silent for a moment. 

"She must be a titan too!" One of them say.

"Shut the fuck up, you swine. You just want to have things your own way." Levi interrupted.

"Your honor, I'd like to make a request." Erwin respectfully raised his hand.

"What is it?" The judge turned his attention towards Erwin.

"I've made my decision to take Eren to join the Survey Corps. With his ability in titan shifting, I believe he is the key to saving humanity. (First) was the first human to be approached by this boy. I can assure you that Eren will be tamed with the help of Cadet (first)." Erwin stated.

The judge thought for a brief moment and nodded.

"Very well. From this day on, this subject will be taken into the Survey Corps' responsibility. See that you write down the reports of this boy's behavior. Case dismissed." The judge announced.

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

 

Eren sat on the couch, holding onto your shirt and stopped crying after the case was abandoned. You patted his back while he chanted your name, clenching onto your shirt every second, causing the cotton to wrinkle. You smiled, relieved that Eren would stay with you. 

"Everything's going to be alright. I promise you Eren." You whispered.

When Eren finally pulled away, he looked up to meet your eyes with his sad ones. 

"(First).... What's monster?" Eren asked.

There was a long pause before you ignored his answer and embraced him, his nose nuzzled against your neck, his arms around your small waist. And without Eren knowing, You silently wept.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Jaeger :I


	8. Experiment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's gonna be pretty short here.

"(First)!!" Eren called out as he ran towards you while you walked in the hallways.

"What, what is it, Eren?" You were startled by his approach as he hides behind your back and grasps onto your jacket.

"What's going on?" You asked as he peeked over your head.

"Aww come on Eren! This won't hurt a bit! I just want a sample of your blood, that's all!" Hanji shouted in excitement as she followed Eren's trail, revealing herself with a needle in hand.

Eren shook his head and sucked his index finger, noting that his finger had been pricked by Hanji.

 

(5 minutes earlier)....

Hanji examines Eren as he stood tall, watching the young scientist scrutinize his clothed body. Hanji walked around him, unable to determine any difference between him and herself. 

"Wow, you really survived out there on your own, huh Eren?" Hanji commented as she stroked her chin.

Eren didn't really understand her but he decided not to respond.

Amazing..." Hanji grabs onto Eren's hand, noticing the bite marks that were printed on his hand.

"Who bit you?" Hanji asked.

Eren tilted his head in confusion as Hanji ran her fingers across the marks.

"Hmmm." Hanji closely examines his hand.

"Can you open your mouth Eren?" Hanji asked as she opens her mouth and points at it.

Eren was able to understand and obeyed her command as she looked at his straight teeth. She then nods and closes his mouth for him, kindly pushing the jaw back into position.

"I'm gonna have to get a blood sample from you. Will you allow that?" Hanji pulls out a needle and holds in in front of the clueless boy.

"I promise you it won't hurt. It's just like um, a scratch or something like that. Yeah!" Hanji smiled.

"I just need a small amount of blood from you. Yes?" Hanji nods her head violently as her smile widened in happiness.

Eren didn't exactly know what made her happy but with a facial expression like that, it had to be something good. So, he smiled and nodded just like Hanji.

"Oh great! Here, give me your hand." Hanji grabs onto Eren's finger and....

_Prick!_

 

(present)

"Oh... I get it now." You nodded as Hanji ended her conclusion.

Eren wraps his arms around your waist, resting his face on your shoulder as you caressed his hair.

"I guess he didn't like it, huh." You commented as he shook his head in response.

"Well, maybe you could convince him. Please?" Hanji begged while you thought for a moment.

"We could do this again tomorrow. He seems... uneasy. Everyone's been talking about him lately."

"Yeah, I did notice that. Levi's been telling me how pissed off he his every time Eren follows you hahaha! Isn't that funny?" Hanji laughed , unaware to the fact that Levi had feelings for you.

"Lance Corporal?" You asked.

"Yeah! In fact, I think he wanted to see you as soon as possible!" Hanji explained.

"Huh... Well, I guess I'm gonna go talk to him then." You sighed as Eren followed you from behind.

You stopped him and shook your head.

"Stay here. You shouldn't come." You tell him, earning a sad frown from Eren. He sucked his finger until it had stopped bleeding, watching you walk away from his side.

"You're really attached to her, aren't you, Eren?" Hanji noticed as she pats Eren's shoulder.

Eren ignored Hanji's comment, still watching you from afar as your distance from him grew more and more.

"Well, how about I introduce you to your fellow subordinates. I'm sure everyone would love to talk to you, titan boy!" Hanji leads Eren to the cafeteria where majority of the people settled. Moreover, Eren was very shy and refused to walk in there.

 

"State your name and business." Levi called from one side of the door.

"It's (First). You wanted to talk to me?" You replied.

After a second had passed, you see the door had swiftly opened for you by Levi as he pulls you in and closes the door, locking it shut.

"What the hell? You backed away from the man who seemed slightly angry and a little.... Deranged.

"Why did you lock the door?-- Oh..." You were pushed against the wall, trapped in Levi's strong arms as he leans close to your face.

"I don't like it when that 'thing' is near you." Levi says in a quiet low voice.

"W-What?" You turned your face to the side, avoiding his eyes.

"Look at me." He demanded.

"What do you expect me to do? I-I want to be the one to guide him, Levi---"

"No. I think you shouldn't. It's dangerous for you. I want to assure your safety, (First)." Levi calms down a bit, hoping you'd understand him.

"B-But Levi I want to help him."

"What if he's just using you? What if he goes uncontrollable and hurts you? I don't want that to happen." Levi stroked your cheek, making you feel uncomfortable.

"He saved my life. I don't understand Levi. It sounds as if you're...."

_Jealous._

"As if I'm what?" Levi asks.

You bit back your tongue and shook your head.

"N-Nevermind." You sighed, earning a small grin from Levi.

"Don't get too close to him, understand?"

"I..." 

"Please, (First). I want you to be safe from him." Levi slightly begged.

You wore a sad face, nodding slowly as he came close to peck you on the cheek.

"I knew you'd do the right thing." He whispered, making you shudder as he released you from his office.

When you exited out of the room, you noticed how Levi came up with all these excuses to get you away from Eren. You sighed in depression, knowing well that Levi was secretly against Eren for joining the Survey Corps, only because of you.

When you entered the cafeteria, you see Eren uncomfortably shaking a man's hand as he nodded while Hanji rested her hands on Eren's shoulders.

"And this here is George." Hanji spoke as Eren nodded.

Obviously the boy's not going to remember all these names. He didn't even keep track. He just went along with Hanji and so forth.

"Hanji, I don't think he'll know everyone's name." You approached to them, earning a wide smile from Eren. 

"I just wish he could just understand us. We need to teach him english again." Hanji spoke.

" _Again?_ "  You repeated.

"It seems that there's a possibility that Eren might've lost all his memories and lived outside beyond the walls. If there's anything that could trigger a memory, I'm sure he'll learn to be human in no time." Hanji responded.

"I see..." You looked into Eren's green orbs, noticing his stare towards you. 

_"Eren, what happened?"_


	9. Teach

"This is the library. Corporal Levi comes here a lot. So does Hanji." You announced while Eren wandered his eyes around the room. As he walked down the hall of shelves that contained millions of books, his pace matched yours, therefore, he attempted to hold onto your hand by tapping his knuckles lightly against yours. He would eye at you, hoping you wouldn't notice his touch. But you did. And right when he was going to hold your hand, you raised it above your head, pointing at a book that was organized in the shelves up top. 

"I'm going to get that book for you." You said, grabbing onto the ladder to climb on.

Once you reached for the book, you felt the ladder bending towards the shelves, causing you to lose balance. 

"Whoa! What the--- Eren! D-Don't climb up the ladder! Get down!!" You held onto the handle with one hand and a book in the other.

Eren didn't understand your command. Instead, he thought you needed help getting down. So he continued on climbing the tall ladder after you with an innocent smile.

"Noo!! Stay!!" You shook your head, telling him to stop. He paused in confusion, tilting his head to the side.

Unfortunately, after you took a step down the ladder, your foot slipped, causing your entire body to fall backwards.

"OH SHI---" You yelped as you motioned your arms like windmills, trying to hopelessly maintain balance.

You thought you'd shatter something but instead, you felt something soft beneath you. Strong arms held onto your waist and supported your back. You got up to see that Eren was below you. You quickly tried to remove yourself but you were held tightly. Eren was glad that you were safe. But he wasn't. Eren closed his eyes tightly, enduring the pain that was added to the back of his head when he had caught you in time. 

"E-Eren! Are you alright!? I-I told you not to climb the ladder!" You roughly pushed him away from you and picked up your feet. You dusted off your pants while Eren lays on the floor, staring at you. 

"Come on. Does your head hurt?" You asked as you kneel in front of him while he sat up and hunched over, cradling the back of his head.

"You need to be more careful, Eren." You sighed.

You noticed that Eren had small tears formed by the corner of his eyes. Tears that were dying to fall from his orbs, yet they stayed in place. You carefully embraced his injured head. Eren allows you to while you caressed the brunette. 

"I know it hurts you. Thank you for catching me." You pulled away and nodded.

Eren became lost in your eyes. You were the first human who treated him like you treat others, but not like a "monster". Levi would glare at him whenever Eren exchanged looks with him. And Hanji? Well, who likes a needle to their finger? Eren felt calm and relieved whenever you're with him. But the moment you leave his side, Eren doesn't know what to do. He feels lost without you. He felt a sting to his heart when you separate yourself from him.

"Are you okay? Yes or no?" You nodded your head, then you shook it.

Eren stares at you, and then his eyes drifted down to your collarbone, feeling spaced out. He hesitated and nodded once.

"Don't climb up these ladders. If you need help, just ask me, okay?" You nodded as he did the same.

"Now this book, it's about the geographic land outside these walls. I bet you know some of these, eh!" You handed him the geography book as he flipped through the pages, stopping at every page that contained a picture. He then stops to a certain page and points at it. He shows you, wanting answers.

"That's the ocean. We've never come across an ocean before. All these years, we've been kept hidden behind these walls that surround us to protect us from titans." You explained.

Eren half-understood you, nodding his head.

"You can't read words, right Eren?" You asked, pointing at the letters.

Eren slowly shakes his head, his eyes glued to the pictures that explain the land features.

"I can teach you." You offered as you lead the boy to a table and sat down.

 

You showed him how to pronounce the words in the book while he followed along. He repeated the words and slowly began to understand the language of english. You successfully taught him how to read... Kinda.... Well, it seemed like he _remembered_   how to read.

 

"The ocean....." Eren uttered as hesitantly.

"Yeap. The water contains salt water. I can't even imagine such existence." 

Somehow, Eren recognized a few words that were short in length.

You stayed in the library with Eren for many hours to come, until nighttime. You nearly fell asleep while Eren continued to skim through each page one by one, slowly coming to understand the world around you. Sometimes, Eren would stop to a certain page and show you with excitement as you nodded.

"That's great, Eren. It looks like a beautiful place." You responded tiredly. 

Eren noticed your drowsiness and set the book down, coming close to your face. When you closed your eyes, Eren shook you to wake you from your slumber. 

"Hm?" You quietly hummed.

"(first)?" Eren whispered.

"What is it?" You yawned, rubbing your eyes.

You feel Eren's strong arms tugging you. He pulls you close to his chest to cushion you. He picks up your feet and carries you up as he stands. You rest your head on the side of his neck. Eren turns off the lights and found his way out through the shelves with books in stock. He smiled at your sleeping form, gripping onto you in a firm way. He made his way to your room as quietly as he could while everyone slept. He sets you down and comforts you. 

"(First)." He whispers to you again, enough for your ear to hear.

"Hmmm.." You hummed.

You received no response, therefore, you decided to ignore it and sleep through the night.

 


	10. Feel

You opened your eyes to be greeted by the sun shining on your face. Your eyes acted on instinct and quickly shuts out the bright light. Suddenly, you feel something squeezing your chest. Quickly, you uncovered your sheet to reveal the titan boy securing your waist as he dug his face deep down in the cleavage of your breasts in comfort. 

"What the---!!" Your face turns beet red, panicking against his touch. You tried to flee away and get off your bed but his grip became firm as he let out a satisfied sigh.

You were too embarrassed by the way your were positioned with him, shoving his face away from your personal space. He still wouldn't budge, though he was extremely tired.

"Eren get off me!" You whispered in a harsh way.

He indirectly responds with a soft groan, unable to hear your voice. His cheek rubs against your chest to make himself comfortable.

"Jeez, how the hell did you get in here without anyone noticing???" You clicked your tongue while you struggled to remove Eren from you.

A knock was heard from the door, making you flinch.

"(First)? Are you still sleeping?" 

You hear Levi's voice from the other side. Quickly, you covered Eren along with yourself using your bed sheet, revealing only your head.

Levi opens the door, entering the room. He then made his way towards your bed, watching you with bored eyes.

"You're late. You need to get up right now." Levi sighs as he comes up to you, grabbing a handful of your bed sheet, planning on pulling it away.

You grabbed onto his wrist and stopped him before he unravel's Eren's whereabouts.

"NO! D-Don't move my sheets!!"

"What?"

"I-I'll get up! It's just that...." 

Levi moves his hand away in confusion, but also suspicion. You had to think of a lie, and fast.

"I-I sleep..... n-naked. P-Please don't uncover me." You stuttered.

"Hm... Are you sure you're not sick or anything?" Levi says with concern, resting his cold palm against your hot head.

"N-No sir..." You replied.

 

Levi stares at your blushing form, finding it slightly cute. Fortunately, he believed every word you said and decided to leave you alone.

"Try to get used to it." He spoke.

"Huh?"

"Our relationship." He responded.

"Ah, y-yes sir." You nodded as you covered your head with your bed sheet, hiding your face away from the atmosphere until Levi had left the room.

The second you hear the door close, you quickly removed your sheet to see that Eren was sleeping peacefully. You felt sympathy for the boy. When was the last time he's slept comfortably on a bed? Or how long has he been alone beyond the walls on his own, staying outside in the cold world? Those questions wandered in your mind while you caressed his hair, untangling his strands. 

"Eren..." You whispered as you shook him.

"..."

You opened his eyelid using your thumb, causing him to close them shut to moisten.

He grunts, slowly shaking his head, his chin touching his collarbone.

Eren lets out a yawn. He deeply inhales your scent with a small smile before going back to sleep.

You wanted to escape from his hold. So, you decided to shift yourself away from the boy until you fell off of the bedside, bringing him down with you. It was successful, but his weight was on you, causing you to let out a groan. His head still rested against you, and his hands tiredly held onto your shirt. You quickly slipped yourself away as his grasp became loose. You crawled away from him until his hand grabs onto the ankle of your foot, catching you in slight surprise. Eren's head slowly lifted up to meet your eyes with his tired ones. 

"huh?" Eren lazily blinked his eyes, stopping you from getting away from him.

"Eren, wake up!" You rushed him, trying to pull your foot away.

"(First)?" Eren lifts up his chest and sat up, dragging your foot towards his direction. Even though he was tired, he was still strong as ever.

"Nonononono!" You shook your head, helplessly holding onto the cracks of the old wooden floorboards.

Once you've reached him, he puts your leg around his waist, so that you were in a sex position with him.

"(First)." Eren smiled as he hugs you with warmth.

"Get off me Eren! If anyone finds us, we're dead!" You roughly pushed him away and quickly stood up, running away from him. You quickly exited the door and closed it from behind, trying to keep up with your heartbeat that was rapidly drumming. You panted and sat down for a brief moment, leaning against the door to rest your heart. 

"The titan boy is missing!! He's gone!" You hear a soldier say to someone.

"Where the hell did he go? I knew he was trouble!" The other said.

The two soldiers see you and points at you.

"You there! Cadet (First)! Have you seen the titan boy?" They asked.

"Last time I saw him, he was at the library with Hanji." You quickly lied.

"Are you sure??" 

"I'm positive."

"Well, that does make sense... Thank you for telling us." One of them say.

Once they walked away, you sighed in relief. You searched the area to see no sign of soldiers or comrades of yours. With that, you got up and slowly opened the door to see Eren appearing in front of you. You flushed and gasped in surprise, shutting the door in his face without thinking. You backed away from the door, nervously watching the door knob turn itself. Eren opens the door with an innocent face. He smiles at your form and shuts the door from behind.

"Morning." You slowly panted with nervousness.

"hm?" He asks.

"I-It's... A greeting for when you wake up...." You explained.

"Morning." Eren repeats.

"Yeah." 

"Morning (First)!" He greeted properly.

"Morning." You nodded.

"We gotta get ready. I should take you to Commander Erwin to get you your uniform." You looked away as you gestured him to follow you.

 

 

As you walked in the hallway, many people greeted you. As for Eren, he was too shy to say it in front of them. Instead, he stayed quiet, walking beside you. You then see Levi approaching towards you. You noticed that disgust was written all over on his face as he came closer and closer, step by step. You straightened yourself and quickly saluted.

"Good morning, Corp--" You noticed that Levi wasn't glaring at you, but at Eren.

Levi walked towards Eren and strikes the boy on the jaw area, knocking him down.

"C-Corporal!! W-What are you doing!?" You stopped Levi, holding him back.

"Where the fuck were you last night? You were supposed to sleep in the basement." Levi scowled at Eren in a calm yet furious way.

Eren thought that it offended Levi when he didn't greet him.

"M-Morning---" 

"Where were you?" Levi asks again.

"Corporal, he doesn't exactly know what you're asking for! Please don't hurt him!" You clung onto Levi's arm to create distance between the two.

"L-Listen to me, he's been outside these walls for a while, please don't blame him for his mistakes!" You tried to convince Levi, calming him down.

"If you don't sleep in your cell tonight, I swear I will find you, and I won't hesitate to kill you." Levi threatened the poor boy.

"A-Are you okay?" You left Levi's side to help Eren.

You knelt down in front of him to scrutinize his damaged jaw.

"(First) I think you need to come with me." Levi grabs onto your arm and pulls you away from Eren.

"Wait. Wait!! I-I can't just leave him Levi! H-hey!" You responded as you stumbled in your steps.

Eren watches you get pulled away from the man you spoke so highly of. The man you've always looked up to. It seemed as if Levi was more important to you than Eren, or so he thought. With that thought, it could take hours before he could bring up a smile again. Eren slowly rose up and hovered his palm over his jaw, slowly walking away from the scene with his eyes glued to the ground. And if you hear something shatter, it must've been the sound of one's broken heart.

 


	11. Understand

Eren slowly flips the pages of the unknown book he took from the shelves. He didn't notice the tears that were constantly falling while he skimmed through the pages with his slender fingers. He impatiently waited for you, wanting you to find him as soon as possible. He felt as if he was going to fall apart. He silently sat there, turning the picture book and rereads them once he got to the end of the page. For a while, he's been doing it for more than 20 times. Every once in a while, Eren would glance at the door, hoping you'd come and find him. He then rubs his jaw, where Levi had struck him. It felt painful, but what hurts more was his aching heart. There was never a time where he didn't think about you at all. A your voice was replaying in his mind like a broken record that wouldn't stop, except, he didn't want it to.

 

Click-

Eren swiftly turns his head with a surprised look, feeling sure that it was you coming through that door. But it wasn't.

"Whoo! So many things to do!~" Hanji appeared with papers that were disorganized.

"Eh?" Eren sounded.

Hanji looks up to meet eyes with Eren. She stops her tracks then laughs to herself.

"Haha! I didn't see you there! What are you doing here, Eren?" Hanji sets down her papers on the desk beside Eren's book. 

"Are you reading something?" Hanji flips the book over to read the cover.

"Ah, Beauty and The Beast," Hanji nodded.

"It's such a beautiful story. A tale about a beast and a girl falling in love." Hanji clasped her hands together, resting them beside her cheek, closing her eyes in imagination.

"eh?" Eren asks, staring at Hanji.

"It's a very cute story, Eren!--- Hey why are you crying?" Hanji wipes away Eren's tears that trailed down his cheeks. 

"Hm?" Eren noticed and wipes them away.

"Are you homesick? Do you miss living out there?" Hanji asks, pointing outside.

Eren followed her pointed finger and tilted his head in confusion. 

"Oh, right. You don't quite understand what I'm saying, right?" Hanji stated, resting her hands on her hips.

"Well! It's my job to teach you how to read and speak, Eren! Since this is an easy book to read, let us start here, okay?" Hanji suggested.

Eren didn't answer, but stare at Hanji, still feeling lost. Hanji sits down and pats the seat beside her while turning to page one.

Eren obeyed and sat, playing with his fingers. He appreciated Hanji's kindness but he didn't have the same feelings like he has for you. It's strange how his heart reacts towards you besides others. It was unreadable for him, yet he ignored that.

"Let's start." Hanji smiled.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

"Levi! Let go!" You shoved the man away after he pulls you into his office, locking the door from behind.

You quickly backed away from him, creating a huge personal space from him while he turned around, staring at you. His eyes were mixed with anger and jealousy. The way you returned his looks was fear. 

"Why did you hit him?" You glare at him.

"That is irrelevant--"

"No! Why did you have to hit him!? He doesn't know any better Levi! All he needs is a little understanding and you're not helping us at all!" You scowled at him.

"Us? Who's us?" Levi responded.

"Everyone! Everyone but you, Corporal! Eren is defenseless because he puts his full trust in you, me, and everyone on this godforsaken planet! He didn't think he had a choice but he chose who to trust and you're making it harder than it looks!"

"I am?" He scoffs.

"Yes you are!"

"You're the one who gave your word to me that you wouldn't be close to him. And I trusted you." Levi clicked his tongue.

"It seems as if you love him more than you love me." He raised his voice, but not enough to make you flinch.

"For fuck's sake Levi, what the hell do you want me to do!? Eren wants me to help him and I will! I don't think like that about him!"

"No, he's in the way. Hanji can take care of him." Levi argued, still in his calm state but not for long.

"What is it that you find so amusing about me, Corporal? I'm just like any other subordinate--"

"I admire you the most, (First). You were always there for me when I had my ups and downs, and even if you're the most annoying brat on this shitty world, I would never disown you as a soldier, or a lover." Levi confessed.

You stayed silent, processing the words that reluctantly came out of his lips. 

"I can't do this." You shook your head.

'What?"

"I can never think of you as a lover, Corporal." You gave him an intense stare, hoping he's accept it.

"I didn't quite hear that, (First)." Levi took a few steps closer to you, leaning his ear towards you.

"I think of you as my own superior, like Commander Smith and Hanji. You're my inspiration and---"

"I knew it." Levi growled.

"I knew it from the beginning that it was a bad idea to take him in. He's been clinging onto you ever since." Levi spoke through his gritted teeth, approaching you closer and closer.

"I-it's not like I need to visit you every single day---"

"Maybe it is necessary." Levi spoke in a low tone, grabbing your shoulder blades, squeezing them tight.

"Corporal?" You trembled as shushed you with his lips, silently kissing you.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

"Beauty and.... The Beast." Eren pronounced hesitantly.

"That's right!" Hanji praised him.

"The beast... Became.... H... Human..." Eren mumbled.

"Correct. Because their love was strong, the curse that was cast upon the prince was broken. And they lived happily ever after." Hanji explained.

"Am I.... A beast like him?" Eren points at the illustration.

"No, you're not a beast. You're like us. You just need more time regaining your memories that you lost." Hanji rusted his hair, messing up his strands that were asymmetrically overlapping each other.

"My... Mem... Memories?" Eren stuttered.

"I think you lost your memories when you became a titan shifter, Eren. How long have you stayed outside? Have you lived a long long time? Or short?" Hanji questions him.

Eren thought for a moment, gradually widening his eyes as he soon came to a conclusion.

"Long.... A long long long time. Long...." Eren didn't exactly know how many days, weeks, months ,or years that he has been outside the walls. All he knows is that he stayed out there for as long as he could remember, and to the point where he never thought humans existed.

"Did you like being outside?---" 

"NO!!! NONONO!!" Eren covered his ears to shut out Hanji, shaking his head.

"E-Eren? Are you okay?" Hanji figured he had a mental condition or something else.

Eren panted, standing from his chair, his palms still hovering over his ears.

"It's....." Eren tried to catch his breath, as if there were no oxygen for him in the library.

"It's bad!" Eren hunched over and knelt on the floor, feeling uncomfortable.

"It's bad. Bad bad bad bad bad!" 

"Well..... You don't have to live outside anymore Eren. You can stay here as long as you want. We're all here for you, Eren." Hanji pats him on the head, standing from behind, comforting the trembling boy.

"Thank you....." Eren murmured.

"You're welcome--"

"I-I want to see (first)..." Eren demanded.

"hm?" 

"I want to see (first) now. I want to see her." Eren wraps his arms around his knees, sitting on the floor and covering his face from light.

"I understand. I will fetch her for you." Hanji nods and leaves Eren alone with the book opened on the table.

 

 

 

%MCEPASTEBIN%


	12. Seal Away

"Hey! stop it!" You turned away while the corporal held you tight, lazily leaving a trail of kisses on your face. 

You shook your head to avoid his lips but they always seem to hit you right in the mouth.

"Look at me." Levi pulls away while you clenched your hands together, pushing him away.

"Hey-" Levi releases you, taking your face into his palms, forcing you to stare into his dark navy orbs.

"From now on you stay here with me.... _Forever_..."

You concentrated on his words, processing each and every one of them. No... It wasn't what you wanted to hear.

"Levi, don't you think you're taking this relationship a little too far?"

"What do you mean? You said you felt the same thing for me. Or..." 

Levi snakes his arms around your waist, locking them tight and firm.

" _ **Did you lie?**_ " He rasped.

You shuddered at the look on his face. It was a rare face that you barely see. In fact, he was seething with anger, as if darkness had taken control.

A knock was heard on the solid door, causing you to use this as an advantage to push Levi away from you, fixing your hair and clothes. He began acting as if nothing had happened. Levi made his way to unlock the door, brushing his bangs to one side.

"(First)?" Hanji appears, peeking through the door.

"H-Hanji... Why are you here?" You tried to calm your voice down but your lips wouldn't stop shivering.

"I was... Looking for you, (First). I'd like to speak to you." Hanji eyes at you, then Levi.

"May I?" Hanji requested, slowly nodding.

Levi turns away with a sigh.

"Go." He says with a low monotone voice, waving one hand in a sloppy circular motion.

You quickly rushed to Hanji's side, closing the door from behind.

 

"Are you okay? You seem a bit... Shaky." Hanji noticed.

"Huh? Oh, everything's fine, why?" You suddenly stopped the trembling, wiping your face with your sleeve.

"I thought I heard something going on in there. What's going on between you and Levi?" Hanji asks.

"N-Nothing. Why did you call for me?" You changed the subject to keep her away from any suspicion. She was very observative.

"Oh right! Eren wanted me to get you." Hanji snapped her fingers.

"Eren? I almost forgot about him, where is he??" You silently responded while panicking.

"He's waiting for you in the library--"

"Thank you!" You ran past Hanji and straight towards your destination, causing the crazy scientist to smile.

As you dashed through the hallways, you could barely hear the sound of you fast breathing. The only sound that rung in your ears was the voice of Levi.

You couldn't make it stop. The voice repeated over and over, as if it was a grudge that was holding against you.

 

Once you've reached the library, you swiftly opened the door to see Eren sitting on the floor, his chin rising from his knees as he hears your footsteps.

"(First)!!" Eren made his way over to you, nearly catching you off balance when he held you in his arms, rubbing his cheek against your's.

"Eren, I'm sorry, how's your jaw?" You lifted up his chin to search for any minor injuries. 

"Well, it looks okay now. Does it still..." 

You noticed the way he looked at you. It was full of agony and pain. His sad eyes did not make contact with your's as he lowered his head. He wore a worried face, as if it was something bothering him. 

"What's wrong?" You tilted your head to get a better view of his hidden face.

Eren didn't want to tell you. Instead, he rested his head on your shoulder, while you patted him on the back.

"I'm glad to see you too." You spoke.

"Don't go... 'Kay?" Eren mumbled.

Silence came between the two of you.

"Eren, what's gotten into you? I won't go anywhere without you. I promise you that." You pulled him away, wearing a smile.

Eren stares at you in response while you laughed.

"You probably don't understand what I just said---"

Eren cuts you off by brushing his lips against your's. He then pulls you close, opening his mouth, sucking your's. You opened your eyes wide in surprise. Eren was kissing you. And even though he was terrible at this, it was his first time doing it. His green eyes reflected your frightened ones. With that, he pulls away, leaving awkward silence.

"I... Understand you." He hesitantly replies, caressing your cheek.

You stood, dumbfounded and clueless.

 

_The curse should be broken now, right?_


	13. Difficulty

"What did he do?" Hanji asks in surprise.

"Hanji, he kissed me right on the lips. Did you teach him something while I was gone?" You poked your sore mouth that was claimed by two different men. 

"Ah, no. He must've picked it up from the storybook we were reading earlier." Hanji scratched her head, staring at Eren who had trouble wearing his belt.

"Storybook?" You watched as Eren meets your eyes, waving at you while he was tangled in his belts.

"I think you should go help him. We can talk about this later. Plus, I feel that if he keeps this up, he'll definitely remember how he became human." Hanji commented, resting her hands on your shoulder blades.

"But---" 

Without another word, Hanji roughly shoves you towards Eren's direction, encouraging you to help him. You straightened yourself, approaching Eren. You took a deep breath and noticed where Eren went wrong with the belts.

"They're not lined up nicely. You need to straighten them up." You quickly wore a smile, straightening his wrinkled clothes underneath the equipment.

Eren stayed quiet, allowing you to fix his uniform. You weren't surprised at the fact that Eren constantly stares at your facial features. It only made you nervous, your fingers couldn't stop trembling.

Once you finished fixing his belt, you stood back to look at him from head to toe.

"He looks like a soldier!" Hanji clapped her hands together, standing behind you.

Eren scrutinizes his sleeves and shirt. For the first time, he felt as if he blended in well with the rest of the members.

"Soldier!" Eren shouted as he rests his palms on his chest.

Eren seemed excited. Wearing a soldier uniform was like wearing a new fluffy dress.

"You look pretty good." You patted his head.

"Pretty." He repeated as he caressed your hair.

Your face turned red and your heart pounded rapidly. Eren noticed your hot cheeks and began to touch them with his cold hands.

"I'm fine." You removed his hands and allowed them to fall on his sides.

 

"Ah, I see that Eren has on the uniform. Did it fit well?" Erwin interrupted as he entered the room.

Eren responded by nodding violently.

"We should teach him how to use the 3D maneuver gear." Hanji suggested.

"Right, but it'll consume our time in our work. Unless Levi teaches him---"

"Wait!" You stopped Erwin.

"C-Can I teach him instead?" You asked.

"But what about your daily report? We have to submit them to the judge tomorrow. And you have to be there to give them details." Hanji explained.

"It's alright. Levi can take care of him if anything goes wrong." Erwin comforts you by hugging your shoulder.

"You, Erwin and I have to be present at court first thing in the morning! I've written many interesting reports about Eren." Hanji shows you her documents that she has been keeping ever since Eren joined.

You quickly skimmed through the paper. When you finally reached the last one, you noticed there was something messy written in black pen at the bottom of the page. 

 

_Capable of showing his own affection and ~~devat~~ devotion._

 

"I'm going to have Levi read them and verify it before we all leave---" Right before Hanji reached out for her reports in your hands, you quickly jerked away, hiding the paper from her. 

"We can't show him this! It... I-It doesn't even explain any useful details."

What are you talking about? You told me earlier that Eren---"

"Liked reading books! Yes! I did tell you that! You should put that down instead of this." You pointed at Hanji's written report.

"Uh... Okay..." You gave them back to Hanji, making her grab her pen and scribbling out the words, rewriting them with your advice.

"Besides, why can't we take Eren with us too?" You clung onto Eren's arm, giving Erwin a concerned look.

"It wouldn't be such a good idea. You saw how angry those people were when they found out that this innocent boy could be a threat to us all. Therefore, Levi volunteers to watch him while we go. And the judge wants an honest opinion from you, (first)." Erwin responded.

Eren understood Erwin's answer and frowned. 

"Levi?" Eren repeated.

"B-But Levi's been having trouble getting along with Eren--"

"And I expect him to. I know he has some trust issues but that's also why he's so knowledgable. He thinks carefully and in the end, he's always one step ahead...." Erwin turns to Eren with an apologetic look.

"No offense." He added.

"What?" Eren didn't quite grasp what he recently stated.

"(First), it'll be alright. I realized how inseparable you two have been but it's only for a day." Hanji reasoned.

That wasn't what you feared. It was worst than that. You couldn't do anything about Levi and Eren training together. All you could think of was the worst case scenarios that popped out....

 

Time skip---

NIghttime had come and overcame the sun. Everyone had gone to sleep. You quickly sneaked into the basement with a lit candle where Eren was held. You made sure you wouldn't make a noise as you made your way down the stairs. It was cold and dark. You couldn't imagine how uneasy it was for Eren to sleep down there. Once you finally reached the floor, you walked across the long narrow hallway and stopped in front of Eren's cell.

"Eren? Are you still asleep?" You lifted up the candle, high enough to see that he wasn't. 

You felt your heart shatter when you saw that Eren was shedding tears from his socket. 

"(First)!!" Eren shouted but you quieted him down.

"You'll wake the others. Stay quiet." You set down the candle and sat on the cold floor.

You could barely see Eren who sat in the darkness. His neck was still chained up. You could hear him sniff and cough.

"It hurts." Eren complained.

"What does?" You asked.

"This... Thing around.... My neck." He croaked.

"I'll see if I can find some keys down here. I'm sure Levi hid it somewhere here. He always hides a spare." You began to search the hallways, backtracking your footsteps. You felt the brick walls that were built on the sides. One of them seemed out of place. You quickly removed the brick tile and found the hidden key. You quickly headed back to Eren's cell and unlocked the rusty door which made a horrible squeaking noise. Your brought in the candle with you, making your way towards Eren. You kneeled in front of him as he desperately grasps onto your shirt. Once you unlocked the chain from his neck, he quickly embraced you, burying his face into your neck. You gasped due to the temperature of his ice cold skin that made contact with your warmth.

"Oh this is just plain cruelty." You stated as you wrapped your arms around his head.

"Please don't leave." Eren begged.

"I won't. Shhhh." You comforted him.

No wonder why he couldn't sleep. The cell was too cold and there's nothing in there but chains that hold you down.

"I should grab a blanket for you. You're gonna catch a cold." You cupped his cheeks to warm them.

"No... Don't..." Eren shook his head, resting his hands on your waist.

"Eren I--" You shivered under his touch. You noticed that Eren's hands were under your shirt, touching your bare skin.

"So warm." Eren hugs you once more, pulling you close as his hands made their way up behind your back, causing you to arch. 

"Eren, y-you're hands are cold!" You whispered, trying to pry his hands off but they stood still.

Suddenly, Eren leans over to your side,  causing your back to hit the solid floor as he hovers over your body.

He rests his head on your chest and pulls your waist against his stomach.

"Eren I didn't come here to spend the night with you. I came to check on you." You spoke.

"Stay...." Eren whispered inaudibly.

 

You didn't know what to do anymore. And honestly, you were afraid of the sun coming up the next day...

 


	14. Catch

Levi stood there, glaring at the boy as he lifts up his sword. 

"These blades are sharp. You'll get hurt if you don't use them right." Levi explained. 

"Of course, I wouldn't be surprised if you happened to injure yourself with these. You're one of those man eating cannibals. I'm sure you're aware of your unusual recovery."

Eren studied the maneuver gear attached to Levi. It looked so cool just wearing them. But Eren remembered that they were created for disposing titans like him. Eren shuddered at the sight of Levi's blades. 

"Did you understand what I just said?" Levi asks.

Eren nodded nervously, earning a click of Levi's tongue. 

"Answer me, you idiot. Don't just nod your head like a fool." He scowled.

"Y-Yes, Levi." Eren stuttered.

"You're hopeless." Levi sighed as he led Eren into the woods to do some training.

 

You left Eren to send your daily reports to the judge along with Hanji and Erwin. And with great luck, you managed to leave Eren's cell before sunrise and Levi's wake. You hoped nobody would suspect your whereabouts during last night. You left Eren without getting a chance to say goodbye before you went into town. You were concerned with Levi and Eren's relationship. It made you worry even more than before. 

 

"Here's our report from a couple days ago." Hanji hands out the profile and documents to the judge as he skims through it.

"Hmmm, interesting." He commented.

"I can't imagine how hard it is for Eren to live outside these walls." You stated.

"How can anyone?" Hanji added.

"Well, I'm impressed with his behavior. He's slowly understanding how our system works." The judge spoke.

"I noticed that Eren has some trouble with remembering his past. It seems as if he's experiencing amnesia." Erwin theorized. 

"It'll improve, I'm sure." Hanji responded.

"This report will not mean that Eren is not putting humanity at risk though I do accept the terms and projects that you share with me, squad leader Hanji." The judge explained.

 

After all, he is a titan shifter.

 

Eren had difficulty on maneuvering his gear. He would slam into trees or tumble onto the ground whenever he attempted to land. Levi shook his head, approaching towards the titan boy while his face was planted into the ground, along with his body.

"You're incapable of maneuvering your gear. How pathetic." Levi commented.

It was a harsh feedback, but Eren didn't understand it, though he knew it was negative review, especially from Corporal Levi himself.

"Sorry." He muffled in the dirt.

"Get your ass up, we're not finished yet." Levi roughly stomps on Eren's back, causing the boy to grunt.

"If you don't take these things seriously, I'll tighten a chain around your neck until you choke." He threatened him.

"Yes sir." Eren groaned in tiredness.

He got on his feet, patting the dirt off his pants. And when Levi got a good look at him, he noticed that Eren had broken the gear.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Levi raised his brows as he saw that the gear had been immobilized.

"What?" Eren wore an innocent face.

"Thanks to your circus performance, you damaged your gear." Levi got closer to Eren, scrutinizing the gear....

Suddenly, Levi recognized a familiar scent. He paused for a moment to smell the odor and wore his usual glare.

"When was the last time you saw (First)?" Levi growled.

"eh?" Eren backed away from Levi to get personal space while the man stood frozen with drawn swords by his side.

 **"I said, when was the last time you saw (First)?"** He repeated in a dark voice.

Eren refused to respond to Levi, shaking his head.

"You touched her, didn't you?" Levi seethed with anger and annoyance.

"I..." Eren didn't know what to say. All he could do was allow Levi to call him out.

"Stay away from her. She's mine, do you understand?" 

"L-Levi--"

WIth a blink of an eye, Eren felt the sharp blade that pierced through his abdomen.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

"Alright, I think it's safe to say that Eren can come next time we have a meeting." The judge announced.

"Really?" Your face lit up, letting all your worries dissipate.

"Why yes. Seems to me that Eren is making progress." 

"We'll be able to discuss about our next expedition with the boy." Hanji added.

"I put my trust in all of you. And as usual, I'm hoping to get positive response again. If there's any flaws, you'll have to straighten it out. And by that, I mean you three." The judge explained.

 "We understand." You answered.

"Good. Then it's settled. Next meeting will be held within next month or so. I'll see you then." The judge organized Hanji's papers, returning them to you.

"I wonder how Eren's training is going....." 

 


	15. Broken Promise

Soil was mixed with thick blood streaming down from the titan boy. He can feel pain and sorrow. He can feel the anger behind the man's stoic face. That ice cold glare that sends shivers up your spine. Eren was experiencing a brutal torture for the first time. 

He opens one eye to look up, seeing that his superior had stabbed him on the back and into the ground with a sharp blade. 

"You disgust me." Levi spoke in a calm yet dark voice.

Eren's body began to sting. Each blade held him down to the ground. He was unable to get up without using pressure to his serious injuries. He wanted to tell Levi to stop but all he could manage was a small whimper.

"Why would you even try to steal her from me?" Levi asks.

"Once a thief, always a thief." He commented.

Tears streamed down the poor boy's cheeks. His jaw trembled as he attempted to rise from his pierced body.

"I-I..." Eren croaked, slowly and painfully reaching out one arm to stop Levi from causing anymore pain.

"What is it?" Levi takes out his sword with a new pair of blades, causing Eren to flinch in horror.

"I...." Eren didn't know what to say to Levi. He was too scared to say anything, otherwise, he would just add fuel to the fire.

"Answer me." Levi spoke casually as he stabs Eren's hand to the ground from touching him without any hesitation.

"UUGHH!!" Eren screams through his gritted teeth, unable to endure such great pain that Levi had injected.

"Relax, you'll only feel pain for a short while. First, I'm going to cut off your limbs." Levi stares at his swords, his reflection meeting his dark orbs.

"You used those filthy hands of yours to touch her, didn't you? You'll be fine. Your limbs will grow back again, like a titan. Isn't that right, Eren?" Levi glares at the boy as he constantly trembled in fear.

"St...op..." Eren grunted as he closes his eyes tight, not wanting to see Levi's face, especially when he's angry.

"You want me to stop?" Levi scoffed.

"P-P... Pl-ease...." He sobbed.

"Look at you. You're all covered in dirt." The corner of his lips tugged slightly upwards.

"If you want me to stop, you must never see her again."

Eren's eyes were wide open when he had heard the deal Levi offered.

"Even if you take one second to look at her, you'll never see the day of light again. That is, unless you refuse to accept this offering."

"N-No...." He answered immediately.

"No?... Are you saying that you'd rather die than to never see her again? Either way, you won't, you spoiled brat." Levi commented.

 _"You're in love with her...."_ Levi's lips curled into a frown, his eyebrows knitted together with anger to this sudden realization.

He grabs Eren's head by his bed of hair, forcing him to look into Levi's eyes.

_**"Are you?"**  _

Eren didn't respond, causing Levi to lose his temper and patience.

"I guess we'll find out." Levi lifted up his sword, preparing to dislocate Eren's arms until...

"LEVI!!!" 

 

 

 

 

 

  
Levi stopped dead in his tracks as he hears you calling. Eren gasps at your sudden appearance, causing frantic tears to fall from his eyes like Niagra. 

"(F-First)....!!" Eren managed to call out your name with all his might from his dry throat.

"Levi! What the hell is going on!!" You ran over and stepped in between Levi and Eren.

"Have you lost your mind!?! That is absurd!!" You claimed.

"I think it's you who has lost your mind. Are you not aware that this titan likes being around you? It makes me sick."

For pete's sake Levi, not everyone in this world is kind! He needs someone who can take care of him!" You argued.

"He is a grown up brat, he can take care of himself."

"Try to understand me! What did you plan to do to him!?"

"I was just about to cut off his limbs." Levi responded.

"Why!?" You panted.

"Don't ask me as if I'm stupid enough not to know that you were with that titan brat." He clicked his tongue.

"Then prove it to me-" Levi's hand latches onto your arm, squeezing you tightly.

"Prove to me that you love no one else but me..." Levi leans in close to your ear, taking quick breaths.

"- _Tonight_." His hot breath hovers your ear, causing you to shudder.

He then pulls away, giving you a serious look.

"Since the whole party's here, I'll only set him free just this once. But you won't be able to escape from me easily, that is, if you decide to change our plans." Levi cracked his knuckles, turning away, leaving the bloody mess for you to take care of, for he had to meet up with Erwin and Hanji. They must be searching for Levi, therefore, he had to leave and make sure that no one knows what his true intentions were. Honestly, Levi wanted to stay and finish what he started but unfortunately, you had witnessed his attempt of killing the boy. He wanted to drag you along with him but who will find Eren and report it? He knew you would be capable of keeping this a secret, so he left with a slight urge to take you with him.

"There's blood everywhere!" You said in a cautious voice.

"Ngh...." Eren felt tired, he was too weak.

One by one, you removed the blades from his pierced body and threw them aside. You knelt down to pick up Eren, regardless of the pool of blood that stained your white pants.

"It's okay Eren, I'm here... I'm here..." Your voice cracked as you held him in your arms, cradling his limp body.

His head rested on your shoulder. His eyes were closed, now in relaxation. You could feel the slight rapid beat of his heart.

"No one will hurt you again... No one will hurt you... It's gonna be okay...." Tears began to form from the corner of your eyes.

You had failed to protect Eren from harm. You left him to almost die. You felt ashamed of yourself for choosing Erwin and Hanji's suggestion over your better judgment. You felt foolish. 

"Eren, please forgive me..."

 

 

_"I'm so sorry."_

 

 


	16. author's note

Okay.... The story will still continue but it is currently on hold for now. My computer had crashed because of some sort of virus and i am currently typing this through my cell phone. I can try through my phone cuz idk why but the stories wouldnt submit sometimes and its super slow soooo i'm technically screwed lol (that was a stupid pun). I'll try to find a way to get my hands on a computer and update as soon as I can. I'll most likely update it @ a library. What the shiz, this took me more than 45 minutes to write all this.... Viruses are a biatch. But i'd like to thaank everyone who is reading this story and i love u all dearllyy...... 


	17. Infliction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I'm currently typing on my phone. This'll be a little difficult cuz i got chubby fingers so there might be some typos lol and its slow. If the typos bother u, u may message me and i will fix my mistakes.

"What am I supposed to do now??" you thought as you paced back and forth, combing your hair with your fingers in frustration and timidness. You were running out of options. You wanted to seek for help, but no one must know otherwise Eren may serve as a bigger threat than before. 

Eren slept peacefully in the infirmiry, his wounds all cleaned and bandaged. He wasn't making any progress in healing. Instead, he would knit his eyebrows together to endure the pain that kicked in once in a while. Each minute, you would glance at the boy, then return to your panic form. You were running out of time. You couldn't reject Levi's request. No, that would be like serving a huge storm on a silver platter. You shed tears, trying to come up with a plan to avoid Levi's actions towards you and support Eren at the same time. Damn it wasn't your fault that Levi had forced you to love him. That's right. And that was what you were planning to do: convince Levi that he did not give you an option but one, to become his and his alone. 

"Yeah, I'll just start off with that," you gained a small amount of confidence but you knew you'll end up on square one again once you come face-to-face with the Corporal.

"(First)?....." Eren mumbled.

You turned to him and sat beside him on the bed.

"Shhh you need your rest." you forced yourself to calm down in front of Eren.

You stroked his cheek, causing him to sigh in relief. He tightly closed his eyes before he could open them. His eyes trailed down your slim body, then up to your eyes.

"Don't go..." Eren spoke as he softly shook his head, giving you a concerned look. 

"I..... But Eren, the longer I stay with you, the more pain I will cause you---"

"No no no please--"

"I'm sorry." you whispered.

"No, (First) please don't--" Eren's voiced had cracked, hinting that he was going to cry.

"I.... I-I promise I'll be.... Good. I won't.... Do anything you don't w-want me too."

Your eyes widened in surprise. That was the longest sentence you ever heard him speak. He was getting there, alright. He was making progress.

Eren grabbed ahold of your arms, locking them tight to ensure that you won't be leaving his side.

"Stay-"

"I can't "

"I'm begging..."

"Eren, no... You have to stop, please let me go--"

"Why?" Eren opened his eyes in fear, afraid of speaking his next few words.

"You... You don't like me?" 

You paused for a moment.

"You hate me.... Is that it?" Eren's eyes were now soaked in salty tears.

" I'm s-sorry! I won't climb up the ladders no more, I-I promise!" Eren strongly disagreed on you separating yourself from him.

"It's not that. Let go of me, I'm going to get Hanji for you." You jerked away from his grasp and backed away from him to avoid contact from him.

Before you could open the door that leads the exit, you felt strong arms wrapped around you, trapping your arms in the embrace.

"I love you! I-I really do! I like you more than anything. E-even more than books." Eren wanted to convince you to stay.

"Eren, I'm running out of time, now release me!" you struggled under his hold as he tightened his grip, shaking his head. Even though he was in no good condition to stand, he still had the strength to hold you down.

Eren was like a stubborn child. You had to do something....

Eren swiftly turns you around, grabbing ahold of your cheeks and pressed his lips onto yours. You yelped under him, causing him to go on. You clenched onto his shirt, pushing him away with all your might. His tongue hesitantly forced itself in your mouth as you struggled. Without a choice, you bit his lip, drawing a small amount of blood. Unfortunately, the pain wasn't in his mind. He pressed on.

"Stop!" you scolded him.

He refused, hoping you would change your mind about leaving. His arms were crushing you. His embrace was too tight. You barely had any air to breathe, and when he took the hint, he quickly released you. Relying on your instincts, you slapped him across the face, wiping your mouth. You took a few steps back to create a personal bubble. Eren was stunned by your action. Awkward silence filled the air. You panted, shocked to see your crimson artwork painted on the corner of Eren's lips. 

"I'm so sorry." You quickly apologized and ran away from him.

Once again, blood had been shed from him. And for the first time ever, he recieved great pain from you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg the struggle was real. My first time updating through my damn phone. Its awful lol. But thanks for everyone's support, I'm sure I'll manage. And this song too.
> 
> http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zeWgBOgFdBM


	18. A Gift From Me To You

He stopped following you. He couldn't bear the distance you created. He felt hurt, abandoned, and lost. 

"I don't belong here..." the sound of his voice echoed in his head.

Eren fell back onto the bed in the infirmiry. And this time, the only visitor he expects is the four-eyed scientist.

 

"State your name and business." the voice spoke.

"You want to see me, I'm here." you answered with confidence, taking a deep breath.

The man answered the door, giving you a soft yet hurtful look. He must've calm down. His eyes shifted from the bottom to the top, staring at your figure.

"Come in." he says in a quiet normal voice, allowing you to enter as he steps back.

As soon as you stepped in, you walked up to his desk, your head bowing down to avoid him.

"You didn't give me a chance." you say before you gulped.

"Hn?"

"I didn't have an option to reject you."

"You want to break up?" he responded with a twitch in his eyebrows.

"Honestly, we weren't typically 'together'. I just played along with it." you said with confidence.

"...." his face became dark, like those orbs you once witnessed.

"So what, you just.... Play house?" he slightly shook his head.

"I'm afraid that is what I've been trying to say."

Levi turned away and nodded his head. He then walks calmly toward his desk, giving you a fright when he, out of nowhere, trashed his desk, ripping papers and reports, throwing a brief tantrum. He picks up his small glass of black ink and chucked it towards you but missed, nearly touching a strand of your hair before is shattered. You backed away as he ran his fingers through his hair to push his bangs to the side.

"You're cruel. I really thought you were different from everyone. But you're just like them." levi growled as he panted.

"Levi, please--"

"How could you do this to me? I love you, can't you see that?" his hand cringed as he spoke.

You were struck with fear. You didn't know what to do. Levi was acting violent towards you.

He noticed that you were afraid, so he sighed and breathed normally. 

"I'm sorry. Forgive me. Please excuse my rational behavior. I... Lost myself for a sec." he whispered.

"I think I should go--"

"No, wait... Before you do, please accept my apology. I understand what I've done wrong."

You stopped to see his sympathizing face.

"I'm glad you understand." you nodded.

"Thank you." he smiled warmly.

"Sure thing...." you answered hesitantly. 

Right when you touch the doorknob, the sound of his voice stops you in curiosity.

"I actually have a gift for you, (first). I've been saving it for you all this time." he announced.

"And... What is that?" you turned around to see him approach you.

"I hid it somewhere but i can't remember where it is." he searched his desk drawers, pulling and pushing them. 

"Hm... I thought it was here...." he commented.

"Would you come with me to look for it? Please?" he gives you a concerned look.

You hesitantly nodded once before he smiles again.

"Thank you for your generosity." he complemented.

You followed him through the hallways and up the stairs. You were guided through the rooms until you stopped specifically in front of a door. You began to suspect.

"This is... my old room. Its where I keep most of my personal things. No one is allowed in here." he unlocks the door with a key and opens it.

"It should be here somewhere.... After this, I hope we can still be friends." he says.

"Corporal, there's nothing here but a bed...." 

"Exactly." within a second, he roughly shoves you in there and shuts the door from behind.

You quickly got back up and banged the door.

"What the hell did you just do, Levi!?!?!" you shouted.

 

 

"I caught an angel."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for supporting me!
> 
> Isayama Hajime owns Snk


	19. Prisoner

"Levi! Open up! What the hell!!" You shouted.

"Walls are sound proof so no one should hear you..." He rested his palm against the door, feeling the vibration from behind due to your constant banging.

"You can't do this!"

"I can. And I won't hand you over to anyone." He replied from the other side.

".... Your present is shitty, cut the bullcrap!!" You lunged towards the door to break it open but failed.

"You'll only hurt yourself so I suggest you stop trying--"

"Fuck you! I'm getting out! NGH!" You grunted as you tried again and again to break the door.

"I'll come back when you calm down." Levi says before he leaves you.

"No no no! Levi!!! Get back here and open this damn door!!! LEVI!" You groaned and whined as your energy left your body.

"I should've known he was this crazy..." You sighed as you slumped against the dominant door.

 

You scrutinized the room to see there were no windows. Nothing that leads outside. You feel you could die here any minute. Die of boredom. You somewhat knew that Levi wasn't pulling some prank on you. His love was real... And crazy.

"This is not my dayyy..." You lowered your head to your knees as you hugged them, allowing small tears to fall either because you were scared, or you didn't know what to do anymore.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

"Well, it seems like your injuries are okay. I was told by (First) that you were having trouble maneuvering the gear, is that right?" Hanji stated.

"mmh." Eren nodded.

"Gee, I'm starting to suspect something." Hanji says.

"hm?" Eren looks up, eye-leveling with the woman.

"Is (first) having a relationship with Levi or what?" Hanji giggled.

"Honestly, I think they would make a cute couple. Levi was always there for her. Same goes for her too. Ahh, young love." Hanji clasped her hands together, thinking about sugar, spice, and everything nice.

Eren stayed quiet. He didn't want to interfere with you and Levi. If being with Levi will make you happy, then he shall allow that. He wanted what's best for you. He didn't think that he would lose to a clean freak. They were complete opposites, Eren and Levi.

"You're spacing out again." Hanji commented.

"Huh? Oh..." Eren shook his head to get rid of the thoughts.

"It's okay hahaha! I'm thinking about initiating an expedition outside the walls in a couple of days. We want to test out your ability against the titans ASAP. So, I'm going to write a letter to Erwin about my request." Hanji explained.

"mmh." Eren nodded half-wittedly.

"I know what you're probably thinking. 'But Hanji-san! We just recently went beyond the walls not too long ago!'. I'm aware of that but I feel that you can pull it off and help us get one step ahead to victory. Alright, I'm going to let you rest for a bit and I'm gonna go check up on those two love birds~" Hanji got up, leaving Eren alone.

"Love birds?" Eren repeated as he lay down on his bed, thinking about you. But it felt like hell, just not seeing you for a while.

"I want to see you, (first)..." Eren thought.

 

A few hours later...

You soon hear the door, unlocked and opened. You dashed towards it, only to stop halfway when you see a familiar figure coming in.

"I came to check up on you--"

You attempted to run past him yet, he captured your waist and held you back, pushing you away from the door, locking it shut with the key.

"Let me out! You're crazy!" You scowled as you pounded on his chest, causing him to cough.

"I don't intend to hurt you, but you're really pushing me to the limit." Levi wears his usual stoic facial expression as he caught your wrists and pushed you onto the bed.

"Give up."

"In your dreams!"

You tried to fight back but his strength was overwhelming you.

"Do I have to tie you up?" Levi asks.

"Let me go! Eren!! Eren help!!" You shouted.

Levi was enraged to hear the sound of your voice, pleading for Eren's presence. Most of all, he was consumed in jealousy, because he was aware of Eren's feelings for you. It was like a horrible combination.

"What does he have that I don't?" Levi's face was inches away from yours, causing you to yelp and retreat. You quickly turned away to avoid his eyes, only to feel his hot breath against your neck.

"... A heart." You glared at him as he moves away, saddled on top of you. It was the most hurtful thing you've ever said to him. And it was probably the most painful thing for him to hear in his entire life. Of all the sacrifices that he made, the people he once cared about, You, who he had cherished the most. He's been through so much pain, he was unwanted by you. 

"No matter what, you will stay with me. Even if I am heartless, I don't care." But he did.

Levi removed himself from you and sat on the bed.

"Give me the damn key, Levi. I don't want to stay here."

Levi looked up to see you standing in front of him, holding out your hand. He then stares at your palm, chuckling to himself. He was nearly brought in tears, yet he held back.

You watched him laugh in silence and confusion as he enjoyed himself. Levi hovers his palm over your's, remembering how he felt when he had first confessed to you. Sadly, you jerked away, disgusted by his touch. His small smile had faded away into a sympathetic frown.

"Give me the key!" You grabbed him by the collar, shaking him.

"If you want them, you're going to have to get them." He smirked deviously, staring into your orbs to scare you.

You shoved him away from you and headed towards the door, shaking the knob.

"I'm staying here with you until you fall asleep." Levi stated.

"I won't fall asleep unless you open this stupid door!!" You struggled to turn the knob.

"I can do that." Levi leaned over, resting his elbows on his thighs, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"No shit, Levi, you never sleep." You turned to him, patting his chest and arms to feel if there's any answer to your prayers.

"Why don't you look a little lower?" Levi spoke as he allowed you to search him.

"You're disgusting." You scoffed.

Strange, you knew he has it but it wasn't even in any of his pockets. You even told him to stand and found nothing but his flat ass.

"It could be in my back pockets, you never know." 

"I tend not to touch there. I don't see a fucking key there Levi. Quit playing around and give it here!!" You demanded.

"Like I said, find it yourself." Levi raises his arms, allowing you to search everywhere.

"You're making it difficult." You barked.

"Says the one who betrayed me." He responded.

"It was no betrayal, you're not acting yourself." You stepped away to search the floorboards.

"I know you hid a spare key here somewhere." You commented.

"Not in this room I do." He answered.

"For the time being, I will enjoy myself, watching you find nothing." Levi peacefully lay on the bed, his eyes glued to your figure, your perfect curves, your pink lips.

WIthin a couple hours that passed, Levi found himself taking a brief nap. He woke up, only to find out that the day was getting late and the night was up. He took out a match and lit up a candle, setting it on the ground, only to find you sleeping there. Levi picked you up and set you on the bed. He was getting a little drowsy watching you sleep in peace after trying to find the key, in which he hid under his tongue when you weren't looking. It was a small key that could perfectly fit in his mouth. He took it out and slipped it in his pocket. He then hovers over your body, unbuttoning your shirt and unzipping your pants. Once he took off your shirt, he undid your bra, causing you to shift to your side, which made it easier for him to unbind since the pin was behind your back. He pulls you back to lay flat on the bed. You flickered your eyes open, feeling cold all of a sudden.

"Hn?" You see that Levi had half-undressed you during your time of sleep.

"AHHH!!!!" You shrieked in horror as you kicked him off your bed. Unfortunately, he was on his knees so he was easily pushed off.

"What the hell are you trying to do, you perv!!" You wrapped bed sheets around your chest and covered up.

"Didn't you once tell me that you sleep nude?" Levi recalled.

"That does not mean I give you the permission to undress me, you insane leech!" You insulted him.

"I was just trying to help you." Levi jumps back on the bed with you.

"Hey get the hell off old man!"

"We're only two years apart, genius." And that was his last words before he drifted off to sleep.

You were too tired to complain and lecture him. After many attempts of pushing Levi off the bed again, you soon failed and groaned. You crawled off of the bed and slept on the hard cold floor. You did not want to be in the same bed as that man. The man that you once knew but was now gone. Who is this new man? After a couple of minutes, you soon found comfort in your sleep, only to feel a bed beneath you. He had brought you back onto the bed again...


	20. Old Days

The next morning, your were nowhere to be seen, at least, that's what Eren's been thinking about ever since yesterday. His wounds healed and his bandages were removed. Now that he could move freely, he could search for you, yet he was worried of how he was going to approach you. As for you, you sat in bed, refusing to eat unless Levi released you. For the time being, you killed time just by kicking the walls or stomping your feet to see if anyone notices your disappearance. Each time, Levi would come in and tell you to stop. You'd refuse and it causes him to tie you up. Unexpectedly, he was some sort of "knot master". Hell, you couldn't escape from the tight ropes that were holding you down.

 

"You're so stubborn." Levi hissed.

"Let me go!!" You screamed as you flexed your muscles and painfully forced your skin to dig deep into the thick ropes. They were hurting you as long as you continued to fight against it.

"You'll hurt yourself, stop it---" 

"Get away from me! You're no longer a superior of mine! Nor a friend!" You announced randomly.

"Don't say such nonsense, calm down--"

"NEVER!!" You barked.

 

Within a blink of an eye, Levi shoved you against the wall, kneeling down across from you, his eyes fixed onto you. Those angry eyes again. He squeezed your cheeks in an almost painful way, causing you to shut up in an instant. 

"You are making this very difficult. Do you want me to cut your tongue? I guarantee you won't be screaming as much right after I get rid of it." He says in a low dark tone.

You stayed silent, causing him to pull back and caress your hair.

"Did I scare you?" He says after a minute of calming you.

"Don't touch me." You jerked away from him and pushed yourself against the corner of the wall to create distance.

"Please behave while I'm gone." Levi gets up and watches your retreating form, your face full covered in defeat and hatred.

"Soon enough, you'll learn to love me and come to an understanding." Levi commented before he shuts the door, locking it tight as usual.

"Yeah right." You scoffed as you leaned against the stiff wall, sighing.

There was no point in screaming since no one would hear you except the corporal. It was awfully boring to stay in the room. You lay on the cold floor with your arms and legs tied up. You turned to the side, which revealed an odd looking box. You raised your head to see the view from it's original perspective. You crawled close to the bed and struggled to pull the dusty box from underneath. Since you were flexible, you were able to flip your tied wrists from behind to the front. You curiously opened the box with difficulty to reveal old letters and photos. You then saw a small picture of yourself in a profile document. It contained almost everything about you. Your blood type, your birthday, your home, family members, gender, everything. You flipped through the pages to view private reports that you were never aware of. You then see a photo of Levi's previous squad. Before they passed away. You see that Levi still wore that same old stoic face while everyone smiled for the photographer. You flipped the photo to read a small comment that was written in cursive form. 

 

_"Best wishes, Corporal! We hope you had a great year! May your greatest desires come true!"_

_Love, Sq--------_

You couldn't make out the last word yet you assumed it was supposed to write "Squad Levi". You figured this photo was taken on the day of his birthday. You ran through some more photos. Levi called your prison a "personal" room for a reason. They were full of memories that kept Levi sane and alive. You found a photo of you and him with his new squad members. As you went over the other photos, his squad members were gone one by one yet you were still in the picture, by his side. You sympathized this man. After looking over his past, you placed everything back in order and made sure Levi wont notice. 

 

 

_\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

 

"Where is (First)? Have you.... Seen her?" Eren asks the people around him. 

 _"_ I ain't got the slightest clue, buddy. Go talk to Corporal Levi. Maybe he knows." One of them say in a rude manner.

"Okay. Ah, thank you." Eren nodded and bowed as he went in search of Levi, regardless of the fact that Levi tortured him just yesterday.

Eren didn't see a trace of you. He was worried about you. He wouldn't stop looking for you until he sees you.

"Oi, what the hell are you doing, snooping around from door to door?" A voice called from behind.

"Where's (First)?"

"She is none of your concern. Do not bother her, she is not feeling well right now." The man crosses his arms, leaning against the wall.

"She's..... Sick?" Eren repeated.

"Yes, didn't you hear me?" Levi sneered.

"Is she alright? P-Please tell me!" Eren seemed concerned of your current state.

"Everything's under control. I will take care of her. There is nothing for you to worry about, idiot. Now do us all a favor and stop meddling in people's business, it's rude." Levi responded.

"I checked and she's..... Not in the infirmary." Eren gave Levi a serious look.

"She is kept somewhere you cannot reach her. Give her space, your presence probably made her sick so stay away and don't ever ask about her again until she is well."

With that, Levi walked off to finish his work and duties while Eren stood dumbfounded, slightly disbelieving Levi's lie. 

 

 

 


	21. Frustration

_Oi, wake up._

 

 

"Hm?" You flickered your eyes open to see Levi sitting beside you on the bed with a bowl of soup in his palm. 

"I brought you food. Eat up." He shows you the bowl of soup, the fresh scent digging into your nostrils.

You slowly sat up, rubbing your eyes and yawned. You took a good look at the bowl. As strange as it sounds, you politely accepted the soup from his grasp rather than slapping it away like the last time, which obviously angered him yet he didn't show it. 

"Make sure you finish this soup. I cooked it just for you." Levi says as he gets up from the bed and leaves.

"Wait." You commanded tiredly.

He stopped his footsteps, his back still facing you.

".......Thanks for the soup." You said as if you would kill yourself for saying this.

"Yeah." He responded as he closes the door shut from outside and as usual, locks it.

"Tch, talk about trust issues." You clicked your tongue after hearing the sound of the door lock to seal you away from the rest of the world every time. 

After you finished the bowl, you set it down by the door and reached for the box under the bed to read more papers and photographs that were personally Levi's. Well, you typically had nothing to do so why not look into his things?

 

You pulled out an old photo of a girl with red hair and a young man with silver hair. Their names weren't written on the photo but you knew they would hold a special place in Levi's heart. They seemed really happy and energetic, especially the little girl. You knew they were long gone and you couldn't imagine how that tore Levi apart. Poor guy.

"Hmmm..." You hummed to yourself in a melodious tone, going through Levi's stuff, getting to know the real side of him that he was in fact, a very caring man though he does not show it.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

"Alright Eren! When I give you the signal, prepare to transform!~" Hanji says as Eren nodded. He was in a large amount of space outside where he can most definitely fit in. Everyone backed away except for the scientist of course, watching him cautiously transform into a giant.

As she raises the smoke gun, she pulled the trigger and upshot the green flare.

Eren watched in awe, never seeing those things before. After a second of getting caught off guard, he shook his head to focus on the main point and bit his hand like a dog. Hanji studied Eren's cause of the transformation.

_His hand...._

As he began to change into a titan, the people surrounding him began drawing their swords.

"Not yet!" Hanji demanded, signaling them to stop at once.

"Squad Leader! He looks so dangerous!" Moblit commented.

"It'll be fine, trust me." Hanji answered.

Taking a few steps forward, earning a gasp in the crowd of soldiers, Hanji shouted, waving her hands in the air.

"OI BIG GUY! CAN YOU TALK?" She announced in curiousity.

Eren turned to Hanji with mad eyes, slowly shaking his head.

"CAN YOU WRITE FOR US?" Hanji pretentiously wrote her finger on her palm to help clear his understanding.

Eren kneeled and began to write with his finger.

 

_Yes_

 

"He seems to be controlling his titan powers just fine." Hanji noted as Moblit quickly jought down the report of Eren's behavior.

Eren began writing again.

 

_I reemember some thing_

 

"What is it?" Hanji asks.

  
_I do not noe_

 

Eren wrote in a sloppy manner. Being the illiterate giant and human he is, he couldn't spell correct either.

"Well, if you do remember it, always write it down!" Hanji smiled, giving Eren a thumbs up as he nodded.

"Squad Leader! Isn't it time for us to take him out?" One of the members say.

"No no not yet! I still have a lot to comprehend! Just give me a few minutes and---"

Surprisingly, Eren began to roar in a deep loud tone. It was so loud, you could go deaf.

"What's going on???" Hanji covered her ears as she approached to Eren more and more.

"SQUAD LEADER! YOU'RE TOO CLOSE!!" Moblit rushed to pull Hanji away from Eren as he watched them with mixed anger and frustration.

"Something's not right!" Hanji concluded.

"What?" Moblit raised a brow, still holding onto Hanji.

Eren went berserk afterwards, holding his head, trying to endure something that seemed painful.

His memories were drilling into his head. It was so painful, he couldn't bare it.

"Let's get him out now!" Moblit highly suggested.

"W-Wait! Not yet!" Hanji stopped him.

"What do you mean 'not yet'?!? Are you crazy!???" The others say.

"What is he doing!??" Hanji wondered.

"We have to stop him before he loses control!!" Moblit replied.

Eren began punching the ground, pounding on it, enough to create an imitation of an earthquake.

"He's gonna kill us if we don't do something! Squad Leader!!!" Moblit begged.

"... Fine! Get him out!!" Hanji commanded as the team went behind Eren's neck and sliced the nape of his neck to stop him and get him back to normal. Hanji used her maneuver gear to reach Eren and help them pull him out.

"It's burning me!" One of the members commented.

"It's so hot, there's so much steam! Hurry get him out!" Hanji says as she grabbed ahold of Eren and pulled with all her might.

"Squad Leader! His clothes and skin are ripping off!!" Moblit warns Hanji.

"Moblit! Draw a quick sketch before he regenerates!" 

"Yes ma'am!" 

It took a couple minutes just to rip Eren out of the titan. The flesh of the titan he controlled was too attached to him, as if he was a part of it.

"Eren! Can you hear me??" Hanji asked.

"......" Eren couldn't speak, he was too tired and exhausted to.

He went blank. Hanji allowed the rest of her teammates carry him to the infirmary as soon as possible while his skin peeled off, showing fresh flesh of the layer below the skin.

"I hope he's okay." Hanji overlooked Eren's titan formed that was slowly evaporating into thin air.

"Are you insane!? You almost had us killed back there! I thought you said this was safe enough to have this guy transform!" One of her teammates say.

"I thought he was in full control of his titan powers, I don't understand." Hanji replied.

"Well you better think twice before risking others to finish the job for you, squad leader Hanji." 

"Hey, it seems as if I'm the only one who cares about this experiment! That's the only way we can progress!"

"Isn't it obvious? You're turning him into a killing machine!"

"I am most certainly not!" Hanji objected.

"He's gonna kill us all! Period!" The man says as he leaves Hanji alone, staring down in shame.

 

 

 

 


	22. Notice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, that awkward moment when you actually pressed 'save draft' instead of publish....

The door slams open. The four-eyed woman rushes in, pushing and shoving the people surrounding her, making her way through the room. She stops on the side of the bed, looking at the boy's condition.

_How terrible._

"He looks as if he was skinned alive." Hanji commented in concern.

"Looks like it." Moblit nodded as he sat on a different bed across from them, looking through his reports.

Hanji touches Eren's hand to feel the depths of the teeth marks that was printed alongside the thumb. 

"This looks painful." She ran her fingers over the marks. Eren winced every time her finger hovered over his recently bitted area of his hand.

"OW!" Eren squeezed his eyes tight, hissing at the pain.

"Oh, sorry." Hanji backed away, straightening her clothes. 

"..." Eren sighed, relaxing his eyelids.

"H-Hanji...." Eren croaked, as if his throat was dry.

"Yes, Eren?" She took a few steps forward to reach him.

"Do you know.... Where... (First) is?" Eren asked.

"You shouldn't worry about her, Eren. She's feeling unwell. Levi told me that he'll be taking care of her." Hanji informed him.

Eren breathed, opening his tired eyes.

"That's... What he said to me... Too..." Eren knitted his eyebrows together.

"Well, that's good to hear. Now that you got that taken care of, you should rest---"

"No.... That's... What he said to me too." Eren opened his eyes a little wider, grasping onto Hanji's sleeve.

"Said what?" Hanji asked in confusion.

Eren thought for a moment and began breathing heavily.

"Eren?" Hanji called out to him.

"Huh....." He audibly breathed again and again.

"Eren, are you okay?" 

Sweats dropped down his cheeks, his uneven breathing was encouraging him to panic. He curled his fingers tightly onto Hanji's sleeve, making her nervous.

"Moblit, something's wrong with him--" Hanji says.

Moblit looked up to see that Eren was in a state of panic and if this keeps up, Eren could be out of control.

"He said that to me... He said that to me...!" Eren repeated.

"Eren, calm down--" Moblit rested his hand on Eren's chest to lay low.

"HE'S LYING!!!! HE'S LYING TO ME!!!" Eren bursted all of a sudden.

"Moblit!" Hanji called for his assistance.

"I'm trying!" Moblit held Eren down while he fought.

Eren's fresh flesh was making it hard for Moblit's job, considering the fact that the slimy flesh would only help Eren escape from Moblit's hold.

Once Eren was free from Moblit, he shoves the man out of the way and through the door.

"Eren wait!!" Hanji ran after Eren, unable to catch up due to his fast pacing depending on his mood.

"(First)!!" Eren called out as he continued running however, he began to run out of energy yet limped on instead.

"Eren!!" Hanji jumps and tackles Eren down. The two of them collapsed, Hanji leaning against Eren's back.

"I need to save her! I NEED TO---NGHH!" He struggled to remove Hanji from him.

"Moblit help me!" Hanji called.

"Y-Yes ma'am!" Moblit made his way through the crowd of people watching the entire scene.

"Get off!" Eren demanded, pushing Hanji's face away from him as much as possible.

"Eren, What's wrong!?" Hanji asked.

Eren turned his head forward to see a glimpse of Levi standing with the crowd watching him with pitiness. Eren began to feel angry.

"Liar! You're a liar!" Eren scowled.

"Who is he talking to?" Moblit asked.

"Just carry him back into the infirmiry!! Here, help me!" Hanji says while each of them grabbed onto Eren's legs and pulled him away from the scene.

As they dragged him back into the room, Eren had already stopped fighting and shouting, planting his face on the ground and letting his arms grow limp like a dead body.

"I think he went to sleep." Moblit drops one side of Eren's leg.

"We can't be so sure. Close the door, Moblit." Hanji panted as she dropped his other leg and fixed her hair.

"Nghhh." Eren lazily moaned.

"Eren.... About what you said back there.... What did you mean?" Hanji rested her hands on her hips while Eren slept on the floor, his eyes staring into space.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  
  


You nervously sat down on the bed, fiddling with your fingers, impatiently waiting for Levi to come, hoping one day Eren would come through those doors.

Once you heard the click sound, you quickly got up and on your feet to see that it was obviously Levi walking in. He shuts the door from behind and locks it, slipping the key into his pocket.

"W-What's going on down there? I mean, I heard an uproar of people from down there and--"

Levi shuts you up, roughly pressing his lips onto yours. You rejected him yet he stood guard and wrapped his arms around you, kissing you feverishly. 

"Stop that!--" You closed your eyes in disgust, looking away.

Levi paused for a moment to see your red cheek on one side of your face.

"It was nothing. Eren was just going berserk." Levi sighed, pulling away, covering his mouth with his palm.

"Eren? How is he? You're not hurting him, are you?" You spoke with a serious tone.

Levi said nothing.

"I swear if you ever lay a finger on him, I will--"

"-What will you do?" Levi cut you off.

"...." You couldn't say anything more.

"That's what I thought." Levi clicked his tongue as he paced around the room.

"Eren is special to me!" You broke the brief silence which made him pause.

"I will stay by his side forever, no matter what. One simple door won't make a difference at all." You announced.

".........." Levi looks at you with a deadly glare. He approaches you in a casual manner, taking your wrist and turned you around.

"What are you---"

"I'll show you..." Levi took off his belt, tying your hands together while you struggled.

"What the difference is..." Levi roughly pushes you on the bed, saddling on top of you and held your binded hands down.

One hand slid down from your arm to your waist, pressing against your skin, slowly rubbing it up and down.

 

_Me_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg like, imagine the dialogues in this story in japanese audio... I am always picturing that lol.


	23. Twisting The Knife

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty short chapter here...

"No stop! Ngh!" Your back arched as the man ran his tongue up your neck to your jawline, sending shockwaves down your spine, causing you to shudder.

"After all we've been through... **You're so cruel**." Levi held your cheek on one side. You could feel him trembling.

"I always thought you would accept me for who I am... As a result, you're the most foolish and pathetic person I've ever met." He said to your face, making you somehow feel a bit offended. Levi lifted himself from your face, sitting on top of you, one hand grabbing a bed of your hair and the other securing your wrists.

"I hate myself...." Levi spoke, slightly pulling your hair.

"I hate myself so much... For loving you..." He looks at you in a painful way.

"We don't always get what we want, is that right, Levi?" You disliked the way you responded in a shaky voice.

You're right, we don't. But that only applies to certain people." He responded.

"You wouldn't hurt me, Levi." You denied.

"No, of course not. Why would I do such a thing?" Levi whispered as he loosened his grip on your hair, trailing his fingertips down from your forehead to your chest.

He leans in to suck on your neck. 

"Ugh! Don't do that!" You turned the other way.

He then bites down hard, enough to etch his bare teeth into your skin.

"Ouch!" You hissed.

"What if Eren never loved you? How would you feel if Eren loved someone else rather than you hm? Answer me." You felt him tugging your hair in his fist, constantly shaking.

"I told you before, haven't I? No matter what, I will.... Stay by his side..." You answered.

"Since when did you start disrespecting me?" He asked.

"Ever since you told me you liked me. You know what, you sicken me, Levi-You're so disgusting that people you care would rather rot than live another day with you!" You silently gasped at your comeback which went over the borderline. 

Levi felt so hurt by you, he couldn't bare to stand it. He quickly tugged your hair again, to make you feel unsatisfied, yet you were already feeling it.

"It hurts me so much. I care about you more than anyone else, otherwise I'd have no one else...." Levi closed his eyes, turning away to hide his tears that were begging to fall. 

You could see it. The way he was dealing with rejection and frustration. He didn't take it well. His tears began to fall onto your cheeks. You took a deep breath, remembering those photos that were hidden in the box that he kept under the bed. There were so many photographs and memories taken, it was literally like a list of dead people kept inside a box besides Levi and you.

 

"Look, I-I.... I didn't mean that..!" You tried to take it back but it was too late.

"Then what did you mean?" He asked.

"Just... Forget what I said earlier." You shook your head.

".... Okay..." Levi softened up and loosened the belt to release your wrists. 

"I'm sorry." He apologized randomly.

"I shouldn't have binded you. Forgive me." 

"L-Levi I---" He collapsed onto your chest, chaining his arms around your waist in a tight grip, his face buried on the side of your neck.

You didn't know what to do so you awkwardly patted his back, causing him to tighten his embrace even more, feeling touched by you.

 

_"I need you...."_

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

"Now that I think of it, it does sound kind of suspicious. I mean, he's always gone somewhere else for a long period of time so that could be it, Eren." Hanji replied to his long story short explanation.

"Ahahaha..." Hanji laughs.

"What?" Eren asks.

"I was just imagining this funny idea of those two making love sessions on a daily basis, that's probably why you don't see Levi wandering in the halls, y'know what I mean?" She giggled.

"This is no time for jokes! I think Levi is a bad person!" Eren clenched his hands into balls of fists, trying his best to convince Hanji to believe him.

"Squad leader, are you guys done talking now?" Moblit spoke from the other side of the door.

"Not yet Moblit just hang in there!" Hanji replied.

"Overall, there are no evidence, just suspicion. It's strange how you would just suddenly freak out and run through the door just to look for (first). You're so attached to her it's like you're--"

"I'm in love with her." Eren finished her sentence.

Hanji paused in awe, her eyesight opening in wide range.

"I wasn't going to say that but that just took this issue to a whole new level..." Hanji said in realization, half nodding and shaking her head.

"When did you began to develope feelings for her, what was it?" Hanji asks.

"Ever since I saved her from the last expedition. This entire time I want her near me. I don't know why." Eren shook his head.

"Wow, this is news to me. So much for going on the wrong ship, y'know what I mean?" Hanji raised her brows.

"yeah... But there's no time to lose, we have to go find her. We need to look for that man." Eren suggested.

"You mean Levi?" 

"Yeah, I just have to make sure that he doesn't hurt her!" Eren got up and opened the door.

"Eren! You're not done healing yet!" Once again, Hanji attempts to stop Eren from pushing himself.

"There he goes again...." Hanji fixed her glasses.

"Moblit, I'm going to head towards Erwin's office. I'll be back." Hanji walks off in a different direction while Moblit stood by, leaning against the wall and watched Hanji and Eren split up.

 

 

 


	24. Invasion

Hanji knocked on the door, allowing herself to enter the office. 

The blonde haired man looked up with his blue orbs fixing on the woman. He set down his papers, wearing his usual smile when he sees his fellow members. 

"Ah, Hanji, what brings you here?" Erwin asked.

"I just need to clear up some things." Hanji replied.

"What is it?" Erwin continued signing his signature on paper reports while Hanji made her way to the sofa, sitting down.

"Did uhm... Did Levi ever file a request to take care of cadet (first)?" Hanji wondered.

"Levi? He asked for my permission to personally take care of her. I hear she is very ill." Erwin answered.

"Huh..." Hanji nodded.

"Well, that's strange. Do you know where she is hospitalized at? One thing for sure, she's not in the infirmary." Hanji stated.

"He's taking care of her in his room. Levi says it's more sanitary than her room." Erwin slightly chuckled.

"Hmm.... Don't you think it's a bit unusual?" Hanji questioned him.

Erwin thought for a slight second, then he sets down his pen.

"I think they are more closer than you think, Hanji.(First) must be growing on him. You see that, don't you?" Erwin nods, knowing that Hanji is more aware of that than he is.

"I guess..." Hanji folded her hands together.

 

The door bursts open, a young man came running in the office, panting and sweating.

"Are you alright?" Erwin asked.

"Sir!..." The man waited briefly to catch his breath.

"What is it?" Hanji stood up, aiding the man.

"The town... The town is under attack!!!" The man yells.

"What?" 

"Commander Smith! We must leave now!!" Another member of the corps came running in.

"What's happened?" Erwin got up, wearing his jacket and approached them.

"I don't know! A-All of a sudden! There's this gigantic titan! Taller than the walls! Bigger than ever! I-It's happening again!!!"

"The wall?" Hanji quickly looked outside. She hears screaming in a distance.

"Hanji, it must be the colossal titan..." Erwin spoke.

"It's going to break down Wall Sina!!!" The man announced.

"Pull yourself together! Gear up and find your teammates!" Hanji commanded.

"Yes Ma'am!" They quickly saluted and raced out the door.

"I gotta find Eren. He's somewhere here." Hanji says as she leaves the room.

"Alright then." Erwin understood what he needed to do before he too, left the room.

 

 

 

 

"Get up, we need to leave." Levi shakes you from your slumber.

"What?" You realized you fell asleep for a couple minutes.

"We have to hurry. Now." Levi grabs onto your hand, impatiently waiting for you to collect yourself.

"Why do we have to hurry?" You rubbed your eyes, yawning.

You hear people shouting and footsteps rumbling from downstairs.

"What's going on?" You sniffed as you got up.

"Let's move." Levi drags you out of the room and led you down the stairs.

"Whoa slow down, slow down, what is it?" You asked, hardly able to catch up.

"Titans are attacking!!!" You hear the screams say.

"What??? Here??" You looked for answers in Levi's eyes.

He couldn't say more. It was more obvious than it looks. People were panicking and running.

"We gotta get ready." Levi quickly takes you to the equipment room to get you dressed up.

"Hurry up. We need to go. I gotta find Erwin." Levi tells you before he gave you privacy to yourself for preparations while Levi went ahead and grabbed his gear before he left. 

With little knowledge of what's happening, you quickly put on your gear. Once you got out the door and into town, you see Eren standing alone, watching people run away from the walls while he glared. There was a crowd surrounding you, you weren't able to reach him.

"Eren!!" You called out, yet you were pulled back from the people who were trying to evacuate the area.

Unfortunately, he couldn't hear you. He then runs ahead in the opposite direction where the people were running to.

"Eren!" You rudely shoved the people surrounding you, trying to cut your way through to Eren.

He was too far to reach. You knew what he was going to do. Without you there, he was going to transform.

You hopelessly tried to run after him while everyone in town evacuated. 

"BERTHOLD!!" Eren screams as he bit his hand.

You stopped your tracks to see a clear view of wall Sina. A gigantic titan stands from behind, casting it's large shadow over half the town.

You've never seen anything like it before. You paused to see that Eren transformed. 

"(First)." Levi grabs ahold of your hand to run away from Eren's titan form.

"Levi, what--" You were cut off when suddenly, a rare titan rammed itself through the wall.

"Stay away from there. We have to somehow capture these titans. Hurry, come with me." Levi commanded you.

As you dashed through the town, you could see that titans have breached the wall, barging through uninvitedly from the hole. 

"Levi they're coming in! A hoard of them!" You say as you stopped him and pointed at the frightful sight.

"Tch, draw your swords. We need to keep them in that area for as long as we can for the people to leave this part of town." Levi says.

"Alright." You understood him. There was no time for sightseeing after your few days of imprisonment in the headquarters. You knew what you had to do. 

You climbed up on top of the roof to see familiar faces with horrific expression. You watched to see that Eren was fighting against the rare titan, hand to hand combat. 

Smoke scattered everywhere nearby the broken wall. It felt humid from afar. You feel a hand on your shoulder.

"Hanji!" You shouted, surprised by her appearance. You noticed Hanji had cracked one side of her glasses.

"Let's give it all we got. Let's fight!" Hanji rubs her nose and began running towards the main battlefield where people were willing to give up their lives for others. You were prepared for that as well. You ran after Hanji and helped her and the others take down the titans as many as you can. Blood was splattered in your face, all you could smell was the metallic scent of crimson liquid.

"We've cleared this area!" You hear your teammates call out. You stopped to see that Eren was eventually losing against the strong titan. 

"Hanji, we have to help Eren!" You pointed your bloody sword towards Eren.

"That thing is too dangerous! We could try to extract the human from the armored titan!" Hanji ordered her men to follow her to assist Eren in the fight while you came along.

You noticed that the gigantic colossal titan was nowhere to be found anymore. Heck, you didn't even know when it had disappeared. You turned to see that Eren was losing. He had lost his arms and a leg, causing him to collapse. He was hopeless against the armored titan.

You wanted to reach Eren before the armored titan finishes him off. You maneuvered your gear and attached it to the tall buildings to accelerate and save him in time. 

"He's going to kill him!" You thought as you worriedly tried to come up with a plan to get Eren.

Since Eren couldn't stand against the armored titan, how can you?

You noticed that the titan bit off the nape of Eren's neck in his titan form. 

"What is he doing?" You thought again as you continued flying over.

You see that the armored titan grabbed a handful of the neck area where Eren's human form was held and viciously pulled him out.

"NO!" You lunged towards the armored titan to stop it from killing Eren. You tried to cut it's arms off but his skin was much too thick. The armored titan grasps onto your string with his free hand to stop you. You were hanging from his grasp as he stares at you. You looked at his other hand which held Eren in his fist.

You were speechless. You knew this was going to end you painfully. You were unable to determine how you'll die but suddenly Hanji interferes and cuts through his fingers to free you. You quickly gave yourself some space before the armored titan tries to slap you away. After landing onto a safe spot, you saw that the armored titan was turning away to exit the town. With Eren.

"EREN!!" You called out as you flew to the wall to see that the armored titan raced it's way into the open fields beyond the walls exterior.

You quickly made up a plan. You searched for a horse to ride on in order to catch up with the titan who had captured Eren.

You separated yourself from your teammates and caught a horse standing in the way of civilians. You saddled yourself on the horse ridden by the military police to get Eren back.

"Hey where are you going with the horse!?" You hear your teammates say.

"I'm going to retrieve humanity's last hope!" 


	25. Captured

You drew one sword as you rode through the broken wall and outside beyond the meadows. The armored titan fastened it's pace yet began to slow down all of a sudden. It clasped it's hands together just like the time when Eren had captured you back then. 

"He's... Protecting him?" You thought as you eventually caught up with it.

"(First)!" You turned your head around to see that Hanji's squad and Levi were catching up with you.

"We have to save Eren!" You shouted.

"Gentlemen! Prepare for battle! Make sure Eren is unharmed and attempt to extract the humans from their titan form!!" Hanji ordered them. 

"Yes Ma'am!" They responded.

Squad Hanji began flying in the sky, attaching their gear to the armored titan. It began to stop, thinking of what to do now. The men struggled to distract it and save Eren from it's grasp while you got off your horse and attempted to go for the nape of the neck.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" You threatened it as you began to make your first strike. 

Levi noticed that the armored titan wasn't willing to back down. One fist was clenched with Eren cupped inside while the other was ready to catch you once your blade touches it's skin. Levi had to warn you but knowing that you wouldn't listen because of your stubbornness when it comes to battle, he just had to do something. Levi quickly attached his spear right where you were going to attack. He approached to you which made you hesitate.

"Don't...!" Levi yelled out as he shoves you out of the way. Right before you fell, a hand captured Levi by the nape of it's neck.

"Levi!" You shouted, collapsing to the ground and tumbled. 

You quickly looked up to see the fist Levi was captured in the armored titan's fist.

You thought quickly and attempted to strike the nape of the neck again. And this time, You were able to cut open the flesh, revealing a blonde man. He looks at you in horror while you tried to rip him off the giant. He refused, causing you to cut his limbs off.

"You're coming with me." You gave him the most deadliest glare.

While you struggled to pull the man out, the armored titan went out of control, throwing Levi into the ground and loosening it's grip on Eren, dropping him before it collapsed. Once you successfully pulled him out, you jumped off the giant corpse and dropped the man to the ground, impaling his arms to the ground with your blades.

"H-Hey what do you think you're doing?" The man called to you as you left him there as a present for Hanji to drool over in excitement.

You ran over to Eren to check his condition. One of his arms were cut off and he was losing energy. Eren seemed exhausted, he couldn't open his eyes.

"Eren! Can you hear me?" You cupped one side of his cheek.

"I think he's going to be okay." Moblit tells you.

"Thank goodness...." You smiled. 

Then, you remembered what had happened to Levi. You ran to look for him in the humid smoke until you tripped and fell. You got up to see that it was Levi who was injured. He didn't look so good either. You noticed that he had broken a limb and his head was bleeding, considering that his head cracked open. 

"L-Levi?" You turned him to you. 

He seemed as if he was peacefully sleeping. But no...

"Levi, are you still here?" You called out to him.

No response.

"Levi, you're still alive, right?"

No response.

"Nonononono Levi stay with me, please." You began doing CPR on him, knowing that you were adding more pain and pressure to his injuries, yet you didn't care.

"Levi, wake up." You nervously say. 

Blood escaped from his nose and mouth, trailing down one side of his face.

"Get up!" You gave him two breaths before repeating the process.

You leaned in close to his nose to get a sign of breath but failed.

"Levi! Don't do this!" Strangely, you were brought in tears. Every memory with him began to spring up as you continued to bring him back to life.

"How is he?" Hanji rests a palm on your shoulder.

"H-Hanji, he's not breathing!! Why the hell are you still asleep!?" You responded.

No answer.

You pumped harder in his chest and gave him more breaths. After minutes of repeating this, you began to feel a faint pulse on his wrist.

"Wait, he's... He's still alive!!" You shouted in relief.

"That's good." Hanji nodded.

"You're going to be okay. You're gonna be alright." You stroked his hair from his face until the other members took his immobile body and set him on the cart to take him back.

 

 

 

"Seal. The. Fucking. Wall. Now." You demanded.

"Okay, okay, sheesh. You know, for a pretty little lady like you, you're actually kinda scary--"

"Just do it!" You pointed your sharp blade in his face.

"Okay! I'm on it...." The unknown man sighed as he turns around.

"Stand back alright?" He warns you.

"What's your name?" You asked.

".... I'm Reiner." He answered.

You nodded and gave the people the signal to step away as he bites his thumb.

You gave him enough space to transform, yet you didn't trust this man to block the hole he and his buddy created. As for the colossal titan, he was nowhere to be found. 

Reiner transforms into an armored titan, picking up a huge stone to block the hole in the wall. You watched with caution as he successfully covered it. You then gave him the signal to stop. He nodded and extracted himself from his titan form. All of you gathered around him to see his face. Some people were excited from meeting him and others weren't too happy.

"Just making sure. I don't trust you." You cuffed his hands together to secure him.

"Yet." He raised a brow in a flirtatious way, causing you to make a face.

"Don't push it." You kicked him in the shin.

"Ow... Hehe, you actually hurt me pretty hard there-Whoa, hey watch it, my arm's a little sore." You shoved him, leading him to the Survey Corps Headquarters to get some answers from this mysterious man who may have a connection to Eren.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I drew Levi and Eren for my possible doujinshi for this fanfic. It's just a sneak peak lol.
> 
> http://simplegreentea.tumblr.com/tagged/mine


	26. Bring The Past

Reiner was held behind bars. His hands were still kept behind his back, chained up and well. For the next fifteen minutes, he'd been sitting on the ground, smirking at you while Hanji threw countless questions at him. You normally stared at him, showing him that you weren't frightened of him.

"Pardon me, ms. blabbermouth." Reiner finally spoke.

"Eh? Me?" Hanji answered.

" I'd like to talk to the brown haired titan boy. Alone please, if you would." He requested.

"Ah, you mean Eren?" Hanji replied.

"Eren?" Reiner seemed confused.

"I'll send him down. He seems to be healing normally again." Moblit says as he fetched Eren.

"Say, you there." Reiner nods at you to catch your full attention.

"What?" 

"What's your name?" He asked.

"That's not a valid question at the moment." You cleared your throat, crossing your arms.

"Aww, too scared?" Reiner taunted.

"Depending on the current situation between you and I, no." You threw that right back in his face, causing him to chuckle.

 

You hear footsteps coming. It was Moblit who was holding onto Eren's arm, ensuring he won't go berserk or anything of a sort.

"Eren," You called out.

"(First)!" Eren rushes to you and embraces you for a brief moment.

"Oh, what a touching moment." Reiner commented.

Eren releases you and turns towards Reiner.

"It just fills that empty hole inside my heart." Reiner laughed.

"Reiner..." Eren's hands held the bars that separated the two.

"It's been awhile, **_Seven_**."

"Seven?" You questioned him.

"Oh, right.... You're name is Eren now. Is that right?" Reiner smirked.

Eren did nothing but held back his anger.

"If you may, all of you, I need to talk to 'Eren' alone please." Reiner announced.

Hanji and Moblit nodded while they left. You followed them until Eren held you back.

"She stays here." Eren stated.

"What? Psh, no girls allowed." Reiner shook his head.

"She stays." Eren repeated.

Reiner sighs and closes his eyes.

".... Fine..." Reiner accepted.

"Why did you and Berthold come?" Eren asks.

"Why, to come get you of course... You've been gone for a long time." Reiner answered.

"Just leave me alone." Eren responded.

"Seven---"

"Don't call me that!" Eren bursted.

"Eren.... Who gave you that name?" Reiner raises a brow.

"I did." You interrupted.

Reiner looks at you with wide open eyes. He then clicks his tongue.

"That name doesn't suite you at all, Seven. It was always Seve---"

"Enough Reiner!" Eren shouted.

The man stayed quiet for a couple minutes.

"You've changed. I can see it." Reiner indicated.

"What?"

"Back then, you didn't know how to talk. But... Now you can...."

Reiner was impressed of how Eren was making progress. 

"They miss you, y'know." 

"They?" Eren repeated.

"Don't you remember? The man with the black coat? Does that ring a bell at all?" Reiner leans forward.

"Man with.... The black coat?" Eren thought for a brief moment while Reiner waited.

"No..."

"Ah, it could be those amnesiac drugs that must've kicked in." Reiner stated.

"Amnesiac drugs?" 

"Sev--... Eren, you don't remember at all, don't you?" Reiner stood up, walking towards Eren.

"Remember what?"

"Remember why you ran away from 'home'?" Reiner frowned.

"I remember when..... When I transformed for... Hanji.... I remembered why I ran away." Eren says.

"And can you tell me why is that?" Reiner asked.

 

"...... Because...."

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

 

"Hurry! Make sure he doesn't escape! Don't let the subject escape!" A man announced.

He ran as fast as he could. A tag hanging from his ear reads "7". 

He was running out of breath. And for his life....

 

"Dead or alive, we'll hunt you down, you treacherous dog!!" They warned.

  
Eren was whimpering, not knowing what to do or how to escape. His hands were cuts off. His body was slowly healing. He was running out of time. Tears escaped from the boy's eyes. He searched for a way out.

"Once we find you, we'll lock you up in that room again! Don't be a bad dog!!" 

Eren was stumbling upon rocks and rivers. He soon fell into a ditch, scratching his arms and legs. Eren's shirt was caught by thorns. He freed himself, costing his shirt. His pants were falling down as well. His hands haven't healed yet. So he shook them off and went on. Once Eren got to a safe distance, he could see flashlights shining in the sky. The men stopped to examine Eren's shredded clothes. 

"Bastard got away." The man spits on the ragged clothes.

"S-Sir! I'm sure we'll find--"

 

Eren hears about four or five shots in the sky of a magnum gun that rung his ears. He crouched and waited for the silence to come. 

"Sir?" 

"He won't survive out there. Let the those other ugly bastards get to him. He won't get far." The mysterious man answered.

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

"Oh... So you woke up the next day to find yourself in this cave? And you had no clue as to why you were there after that?" Reiner re-stated.

Eren nodded.

"Hmm... That's too bad.... Strangely, the man still thinks you're alive. And here you are, standing right in front of me." Reiner grinned deviously.

Eren began to worry. His hands were trembling. You noticed this yet you left him alone.

"Come home." Reiner says.

"... I am home, Reiner...." Eren answered.

"My home is... Where (First) is..." He says while glancing at your face.

Reiner realized how comfortable Eren was to the people in the building. It gave him a thought of his opposing argument.

"I see... I understand.... Say, Eren..." Reiner leans against the wall.

Eren looks up to Reiner.

"The people here... They're.. Treating you nice, aren't they?... You have clothes to wear, your health seems to be good, and you're not restrained...." Reiner smiled.

"And I bet, you came all this way... Because of her." Reiner looks at you with great impression.

"Yes." Eren responded.

"Well, what can I say? You belong here, I guess. You don't belong in that old facility, where they keep us titan shifters..... Your home is here." Reiner spoke.

"Reiner..." 

"I don't need to be hunting you.... We were born to kill, Eren... But I don't like the idea of taking over humanity. It'll suck if it's just you, me, and Bert all alone in this world. Haha! I'd kill myself rather than being stuck with the two of you for the rest of my life." Reiner laughed.

"I can see that you've been treated as a normal human. Ha! And look at me... I'm chained here like a dog, only, I don't have a stupid number tag hanging on my earlobe to make me look like a fucking asshole, am I right?" 

"Don't ever come back, Eren. You hear me? Don't return to where you've been held all your life. All they teach you is to kill..." Reiner tells Eren.

"I don't even want to go back either. Seeing you in this state just makes me want to stay here. I'm flexible with just staying here in this cell." Reiner sniffs to avoid his runny nose.

"I'm sure Hanji will allow that." You spoke.

"That blabbermouth woman? You think so?"

"I'm sure of it." You say.

"Welp, then I guess I'll be staying here then. Fuck the facility. They're always giving me a shit ton of work to do--"

"You have work here too." You interfered.

"What!? I didn't sign up to serve this stupid team or whatever you guys call this club!"

"Survey Corps. Welcome, Reiner."


	27. Exceptions

"HE'S GOING TO STAY HERE FOREVER!?" Hanji shrieked with joy.

"Yes." You responded.

"YAHOO!" Hanji wooed as Reiner stares at the insane woman with slight regrets of wanting to stay.

"Er... Yeah.... Starting today I'll be joining the... Serving Corps."

"'Survey'." You corrected him.

"Yeah, whatever." He shrugged.

 

After a couple minutes passed, You headed to the infirmary room where dozens of people were kept. You specifically picked a bed out of the others and sat there, beside the man who saved you.

His injuries have been tended. His head was bandaged. His right eye was covered with a thick white cloth. You could see the blood soaking his bandages. You noticed Eren had followed you to the room.

"(First)... You should stay away from him." Eren strongly suggested.

"He saved my life, Eren." You replied.

Eren approaches to you, kneeling in front of you. His head rests on your lap, his arms wrapped around your legs. 

"Where did he keep you, (First)?" Eren asked.

"Ah, he... He kept me somewhere I couldn't reach you.... I'm sorry Eren." You apologized. 

"... OKay..." Eren responded with a whisper.

"Are you alright now?" Eren squeezes you tight with concern.

"With you here, I think I'm going to be." You smiled.

Hanji enters the room to check on Levi's condition.

"Ah, still asleep I see. I should take a picture of this to remind him how busted up he looks, hahaha." Hanji joked.

"Hanji." You called her.

"Yes, what is it?" Hanji stands by Levi, focusing on you.

"I need to talk to you... It's very urgent." You patted Eren's arms to release you as you made your way to Hanji. 

"Eren, I'll be right back." You tell him as he nods.

Right before you dragged Hanji out the door, you turned to him again.

"If you don't feel comfortable staying there, just come out here and wait if you want." You tell him.

Eren nods again and obeys you, leaving the room and leaned against the wall beside it.

You led Hanji to the library, cautiously checking if anyone had come through. Hanji noticed your actions.

"What are you looking for?" She asked.

"I need to make sure no one is here."

"Why?"

"Because.... I have to tell you about Levi..." You responded.

"What is it?" Hanji pulled a chair and  beside a desk while you did the same and adjusted your upper body.

"Hanji.... For the past few days, did you notice that I was gone?" You asked her.

"Yeah, Levi wanted permission to take care of you. You were sick. By the way, how're you feeling now?" Hanji answered.

"What? No, I wasn't ill." You shook your head.

"Then... Where were you?" Hanji leaned in close to listen to your inaudible tone.

"Hanji..... I think Levi is sick. I think there's something wrong with him. I don't know how long he's kept me locked in this secret room upstairs--"

"Wait, hold on... He kept you in the upper levels?" Hanji raises her brows at you.

"Yeah... He's been feeding me and keeping me company. I tried to escape but... Only he has the key." You told her.

"Hm.. That is strange. Eren noticed your absence. No wonder why he was screaming and shouting." Hanji pieced together her evidence she collected.

"Levi is sick indeed.... I believe that his job as a soldier is keeping him from being sane. I don't know, that's just a theory of mine."

"I believe it." You replied, knowing that Hanji may be a little crazy herself since she's been in the Survey Corps as long as he had been.

"Maybe... He just needs someone to cope with?" Hanji suggested.

"No, I don't think that's it. You see, there's this... Rather, random obsession he's been having. He confessed to me before the day I found Eren. I don't know why or when he started acting this way---"

"Maybe it's because of Eren?" Hanji tapped her fingers on the table.

"I don't--"

"I think it really is. All I see is you with Eren. I think Levi feels the need to receive some love from someone special. But, that person has focused mainly over a half human half titan breed. How did he feel? Depressed? Sad? Lonely?... Perhaps he just needed you at times when you're gone. Has Levi ever attempt to kill Eren? Have you ever witnessed that?" Hanji asked.

"Yes! He did try to kill him!" You whispered.

"...... (First) he really is sick...." Hanji concluded.

"What do we do now? At this rate, once Levi wakes up, he's going to---"

"I'll think of something (First). Just leave that to me." Hanji says, resting her hands on your shoulders.

You doubted her but you somehow had little faith, hopefully knowing that she'll do the right thing.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

Within a couple days, Levi began to regain consciousness. His eyes flickered, his eyebrows scrunched together. He felt uncomfortable after his awakeness.

"Hey! He's up!" Moblit shouted.

Hanji enters the room to see him.

"My head..." Levi whispered.

"Good morning sleepy head!" Hanji rests her hands on her hips.

"DId you have a nice dream?" She asks.

Levi opens his eyes and sits up. He looks around and made a face, as if he didn't recognize the area.

"Where am I?" Levi asks.

"You're in the infirmary! You've been in a coma for the past few days!" Hanji answered.

Levi turns to Hanji. And with the most confused look on his face, he spoke:

_"Who're you?"_

 

The room became silent for a second, only to have Hanji break it.

"I'm Hanji silly." She laughs.

"Han... Ji?" Levi raised a brow.

"And you? What's your name?" Levi asks Moblit.

"Huh? S-Sir... You don't remember? It's me, M-Moblit." He answered.

"Moblit?... Sounds like a wimpy name." Levi commented.

"Levi, you're not... Remembering things?" Hanji asks.

"Levi? Is that my name?" He says.

"Of course it is! You're Humanity's strongest soldier! Don't you know that?" Hanji sits on the bed beside Levi.

"No, of course not. Don't be ridiculous." He replied.

"I think there's something wrong with his memories, squad leader. He might be dealing with memory loss due to his state of injuries from the invasion." Moblit whispered in Hanji's ear.

"What are you guys talking about?" Levi asks curiously.

"Uh, nothing. We're just saying that because of an invasion that happened recently, you might fall in the category of lost memories?  
 Hanji shrugged.

"Invasion? Invasion of what?"

"Titans."

"Titans? Those giant brainless idiots out there?" 

"Well at least he's aware of that stuff." Hanji thought.

"Well, Levi. I think you should rest a bit more--"

"No need. I've rest enough." Levi began rising from his bed.

"W-Wait, you can't move yet!" Hanji waved her hands to stop Levi.

"Too late, four-eyes." Levi gets off on one side of the bed and made his way to the door.

"L-Levi! Do you, perhaps know anyone here?" Hanji asks.

Levi stopped for a moment. He took a moment to glance at Hanji.

"How would I know? I didn't even remember my name, brat." Levi responded as he walked on.

Moblit took one step to get Levi but Hanji stops him.

"He'll take you down, Moblit, just let him be." Hanji warns him.

"Ah, yes ma'am." Moblit backfired and sat on the bed while Hanji watches Levi walk away.

 

An idea sparked up in Hanji's head like fireworks on the fourth of July. Hanji's small frown turns into a smile as she dashes out of the infirmary, searching for you.

"(First)! (First)!!" Hanji finally finds you walking in the hallways with Eren beside you.

"Yes?" You turned around to meet Hanji.

"I figured out a plan to save you all!" Hanji jumped.

"hm?" 

"Right now, Levi is currently experiencing memory loss. The core of his brain had been seriously damaged, same goes for the brain lobe."

"What? Is he okay?" You asked.

"From what I observed, yes." Hanji nodded.

"Alright... So.." 

"My plan is to have you avoid Levi at all cost. can you do that?" Hanji asked.

"How will that help?"

"As far as I know, the only way to avoid any major issues with Levi is to remove yourself from his memory core." Hanji explained.

"Oh..." You slowly nodded in comprehension.

"Can you do that?" Hanji asked once more.

 

Yes.


	28. Self-Explanation

"Okay, I'm not supposed to go into great details so--" Reiner cleared his throat while squad Hanji listened in.

"There's this... Old facility that's been running for ages, y'know, from generation to generation." He stated.

"And in this facility consists of these vile syringes that contain unknown substances. They transform us human beings into titan shifters. But these only appeal to rare people who can withstand the substances. It's like sending a shockwave from your brain to your feet. Hosts who are unable to withstand the substance will not have the ability to return to their human form once they've transformed.

"Oh my gawd..." Moblit commented.

"Hmmm.... Go on." Hanji listened.

"And... We are subjects. We are organized in numerical order. I am number 2. Eren is supposedly number 7. Now that is a pretty big number of people who are able to transform. There are only seven of us and I assume that Eren is perhaps the last one."

"Who are the other ones?"

"That is where I draw the line. I can't give you anymore information about it."

"So what, you're not on our side?" Moblit says.

"Let's just say I'm just playing it safe, pal. Calm down, would ya?" Reiner responded.

"We have to draw more answers from him." Hanji whispered to Moblit.

"I actually have a few questions." Hanji spoke.

Reiner hesitated to answer with his full will but decided to go with his guts.

"Alright, I'll bite." Reiner stood up, walking towards the bars of the cell.

 

"What color are these substances?"

"Hmm. Actually, they come in different variety of colors, depending how much damage it does to memory loss. I was given a 'safe' syringe where my memory still lives. The substance is clear, like water."

"And what about Eren?"

"The syringe they gave him was a red one. It erases almost everything from you, your name, your identity, where you came from, everything. It's an extremely dangerous substance." Reiner explained.

"And how come you were given a safe one?"

"Because.... I... I agreed to help them with their research."

"Couldn't you have just ran away if they simply gave you the power?" 

"Yes, I could most definitely do that. But, I stayed behind because of the other people who were trapped in that facility. Poor Eren, he wasn't treated well out of all of us. He didn't take the dose of the substance quite well. It actually caused some side effects where one day he's angry and the next, he completely forgets about it and everything restarts."

"Oh, so you do have a heart." Hanji responds.

"Hey, we're all still human.... But Eren is probably more human than the rest of us back in that facility." Reiner turns away, feeling ashamed.

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

_A door creaked open, the lights slowly uncovering the familiar figure sleeping in a cell. Reiner enters the room quietly with spare food in his hands._

_"Hey, kid. Wake up." Reiner whispered._

_He pokes the young man, causing him to jolt upwards._

_"Ngh?" He rubs his eyes, sitting up, his hair out of place, his feet chained up, a number tag hangs from his ear._

_"I brought you some food." Reiner took a piece of bread and carefully handed it to the boy's hands._

_"It's nice and warm for ya." Reiner commented._

_The boy looked at it and smelled it. He was unsure of it, though he began eating it regardless._

_"Hey Seven."_

_The boy looks at him with innocent eyes while he eats._

_One day, I promise you, I'll get you out of here. Somehow... You'll be free one day." Reiner tells him._

_Obviously the boy did not understand a word he just spoke. All he did was stare at the strong blonde, continuously stuffing the bread in his mouth._

_"Hey, what happened to your arm?" Reiner indicated as the boy looked at his hand._

_"What did they do to you?" He asked._

_"Hm?" The boy replied._

_"It looks painful. You haven't even healed yet." Reiner frowns._

_He then noticed something else._

_"And your head... It's bruised up..." Reiner pointed out._

_The boy stayed still while Reiner reached for his forehead and gently pressed the bruise, causing the boy to flinch._

_"Sorry. Did I hurt you?" Reiner asked while the boy backs away from Reiner, shaking in fear._

_"No, I won't hurt you, Seven." Reiner pulls his hand away and stood up._

_"I'll get in trouble if I stay here any longer." Reiner stated._

_"I'll see you later." Reiner leaves with a goodbye. The boy began closing his eyes, tending his bruised temple in the dark._

 

 

 

_"So uh, I noticed that Subject #7 has a swollen head and several cuts on his arm. What's up with that?" Reiner asked nervously._

_"What's it to you? I gotta get the boy a beating or else he'll never learn. Right now, he can't do shit. The best way to learn is through pain, don't you think?" The old man responded._

_"Just give him some time, I'm sure he'll understand. You just have to do a little less beating and a little more caring---"_

_"You want me to put a bullet between your eyes? I can end it now before you can even shift, Reiner. Remember who gave you that power." The old man scowled at him as soon as he whipped out his magnum in a flash._

_Reiner glares at the man and slaps his gun._

_"Tch, if you don't start treating some of us with respect, we might as well give you a taste of your own medicine, you old shitbag." Reiner storms off, knowing that the old man had much more power than him. He sat down, polishing his gun._

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

"That man's been raising me since I was a kid. And Eren? He's a bit younger than me so you can clearly tell how hard it was for that guy." Reiner explained.

 

"And why did you decide to stay here rather than kill us all?" Hanji asked.

 

"Because Eren taught me how it's like to be human when he was brought in the facility. It's what keeps me from killing people out there who are on their own with families and all. I gotta tell ya, it sucks being a puny human but it's better than being a titan shifter." Reiner replied.

"You're.... Jealous of us all?" Hanji wondered.

"Maybe I am." Reiner smiled.

 

Hanji rests her knuckles under her chin, crossing her free arm. 

"How old are you, Reiner?" Hanji curiously asks.

"Me?" Reiner raised a brow, then turned away.

"I may not look as old but... I'm about five hundred years old." Reiner explained.

"What!? N-No way!" Moblit exclaimed.

"That's impossible. Could it be that.."

"Yes. Those syringes carry immortality. Our weaknesses are just the same as those titans out there." Reiner points at the nape of his neck.

"They seem to stop our growth once we've learned to control our abilities. Some of us are still maturing and I hope I get to stay this young." Reiner chuckled.

"Th-Then what about Eren?? How old is he??" Moblit questioned him.

"Hmmm. About three hundred and forty.... Eight years old." Reiner answered.

  
Squad Hanji was surprised at this. They were all shocked to realize that titan shifters were in fact young for a long period of time.

"Is that all the questions you've got? I'm feeling a bit tired here." Reiner shouts.

"Ah yes, please rest for now. We'll check on you in a while. Thank you for cooperating. I am looking forward to knowing more about you." Hanji extends her hand to Reiner.

"Yeah." Reiner quickly shakes her hand and then made his way to his bed he recently requested to have in his cell.

"Does Eren sleep on a bed too?" Reiner jumps in bed as he asked.

"Hmmm. One of the superiors thought it was not likely to provide a bed for him so we let him sleep on the floor." Hanji replied.

"Well you can tell that superior of your's that I'm gonna kick his ass if I see him. So he'd better treat Eren nice." Reiner's last words put him to sleep while Hanji led her teammates upstairs.

 


	29. Separate Ways

"Ah, I see.... Did Reiner tell you where this facility was held?" Erwin asked, looking over Moblit's papers.

"Well, I tried to ask him that but he just drifted off into slumber." Hanji replied.

"Any information is better than none. Well done, Hanji." Erwin praised.

"Thank you Erwin." Hanji smiled.

"So, I hear that Levi lost his memories. That's a shame." Erwin rested his chin beneath his laced fingers.

"Yeah.... I noticed that one of Levi's eyes are a bit... Discolored due to the damage of his brain."

"Discolored?"

"Yes. There seems to be a tint of a lighter shade, brighter than his normal eye color. His left eye has a small color of light blue. His eyesight seems to be pretty normal but overall, the only difference or battle scar he earned was his mono heterochrome eye." Hanji explained.

"Strange. Is he still in the---"

"You know how he is, wandering off in the headquarters like no one's business." Hanji leans back on her chair, feeling exhausted.

"Hm. So it seems." Erwin grinned, relaxing his eyes.

"We should gather some of Levi's personal things. Maybe they could help him remember and regain what he lost." Hanji suggested.

"Whatever you think we should do, I accept Hanji." Erwin nodded.

"Thank you sir!" Hanji bowed and saluted, unable to wait any longer to go over Levi's personal things in his office, hoping she's scrounged up some very personal journals he occasionally writes in.

 

 

 

"Eren, are you okay?" You asked.

"Huh? Oh..." Eren turns away as if he had done something shameful.

"I... I'm starting to... Remember things." Eren responded.

"Like what?" 

"The old facility that Reiner talked about." 

"What did they do to you?"

"Bad things. Really bad things that I don't want to say. It's bad." He shook his head.

"Well, you don't have to say it. I won't force you." You smiled, causing the boy to sigh in relief.

 

"L-Levi! Where are you going?" Someone asks nearby the corner.

You hear footsteps coming closer and closer. You held onto Eren's hand and dragged him away from the sound.

"I don't know." You hear Levi answered.

"Y-You need to rest, sir!"

"I don't... I just need to clarify some things." Levi sighs.

You and Eren hid behind the corner of the hallway, listening in.

"Tch, how annoying...." Levi placed a hand on his temple, referring to the constant pounding inside his head.

"S-Sir, please! You need to stay in bed!" The man called out.

"Listen, brat, I don't need to take orders from you." 

 

You felt a tug on your sleeve from behind.

"(First) we can't stay here." Eren spoke.

Yes, Eren was horrible at whispering, which gave away your position.

"Eren, shh." You warned him as he backfired.

"Hmmm." Levi suspiciously turns to the corner up ahead down the hallway.

"Let's go." You signaled as Eren grabs your hand to sprint away.

"Levi walks towards the corner and searches the area. Before he knew it, you successfully escaped with Eren.

"Say, you." Levi turns to the man.

"Yes?"

"How did I end up like this?" Levi asked.

"I'm not so sure. You should ask Hanji. She knows the details." 

"Alright then." Levi nods as he makes his way in search for Hanji.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

"M-Mister Smith!!" Eren stuttered.

"Yes?" Erwin answered.

"I... I-I would like to make a 're-kest'!"  Eren exclaimed.

"Request." You quickly translated.

"What is your request, Eren?" Erwin asks.

"Would it be okay if... If (First) shares a cell with me?" Eren shrugs his shoulders upwards.

"I highly recommend you sleep alone, Eren."

"Sir, please! I want to stay with (first). I feel more comfortable if she comes along." Eren says.

"I feel it's too dangerous, sorry Eren." Erwin shook his head.

"Welp, you tried." You shrugged and smiled.

"Mister Smith, you have to say yes! Please say that you will allow her to share a cell with me! I don't want to be alone." Eren begged.

"Eren, you seem to be latching onto (First), is that right?" Erwin turns to you.

"Yes." You replied.

Erwin thought for a moment and then nods.

"Our job is to make Eren feel comfortable and flexible with certain circumstances. I guess we could allow that to happen. That is, if (First) is willing to do it." Erwin raises a brow.

"Yeah. I'll do it." You nodded.

"Then I guess we'll remove her from the female dormitory and place her in the cell with you." Erwin tells Eren.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Erwin asks once more.

"Yes. No further questions." You answered.

"Well then, if this helps Eren improve on his human abilities, I guess we can give it a shot. Just make sure he's making progress and he's well-behaved like the young man he is." Erwin smiles at Eren.

"Thank you sir!" Eren bowed violently until you stopped him by yanking his collar without hurting him.

 

 


	30. Confessions and Stories

During the night, you were now officially Eren's roommate in the cell. He enjoyed your company. At least now there was a bed in his cell. Two beds, actually. They were placed on opposite sides of the cell room. Even though you were there with him, he was still required to wear chains on his wrists. You explained to Erwin earlier that chaining Eren's neck won't solve anything. He agreed to your argument made that an exception. Candles were out, the atmosphere seemed chilly, and nothing but the drumming sound of falling rain splattering on the rooftop. You sat on your bed, across from Eren's as he sat up on his. 

"It's so dark in here. Without the candles, I mean." You commented in the dark.

"Hm." Eren answered.

A moment of silence struck the room. Chains rattled on the ground every time Eren shifts on his bed.

"(First)?" Eren called to you.

"What?" You fell back on your pillow, staring at the blank ceiling.

"Is it raining outside?" Eren asked.

"Yeah. It's raining pretty heavy." You responded.

"When.... When I was out there alone, I'd get scared of the rain."

"Why is that, Eren?" You lifted up your head to glance at Eren.

"Because.... It was always flashing. And then, there's a loud boom sound." Eren explained.

"Well, that's natural. I mean, I used to be afraid of it too." You said as you rested your head back down.

"Ah... Okay." Eren nods.

Awkward silence fills the air once more.

 

"(First)?" Eren calls out again.

"Yeah?" You answered.

"Can I... Can I hold you?" Eren requested.

"... What?" 

"I said.... Can I hold you?" Eren repeated.

"Eren, there's two beds for a reason." You replied.

"So..... Is that a no?" Eren asked nervously, hinting that he was feeling hurt.

"Are you afraid of the rain?" You asked.

"No. I don't hear scary noises." Eren responded while he fiddled with his fingers.

"Eren, you should go to sleep." You rubbed your eyes as you yawned.

"But.... I want to hold you." Eren tells you.

"I-I promise, if you let me hold you, I'll go to sleep." Eren pleaded.

".... Alright." You sighed as you got out of bed and walked across to Eren's side.

You sat on his bed as he reached out for you. He grabs onto your wrist, pulling you in. You hesitated to accept his hold.

"What is it?" Eren asked.

"Nothing. I'm just tired." You yawned once more.

"Oh... Okay." Eren wraps his strong arms around your waist, pulling you close to his as he rests his head beside your chest area.

"Hey, (First)?" Eren whispered.

"Hn." You responded.

"Do you like... Levi?" Eren asked.

"Uhm.... Yeah, I do." You closed your eyes, wrapping your arms around his head.

"You don't like me?" Eren holds you firmly, causing you to gasp quietly.

"Of course I like you Eren." You said as you exhaled.

"Levi is... Was my superior. I know he can be a little crazy and all. But I still like him. Not love, but family-wise." You responded.

"Then, do you love me?" Eren asks.

"..... Yes... I love you Eren. Now go to sleep." You responded normally.

"Really?" Eren squeezes you tight again, and this time, you weren't able to breathe.

"Ere---"

"All this time, I thought you didn't love me... I'm so happy (First)." Eren felt a sense of relief washing over him.

".. I can't... Breathe." You gasped for air until Eren realized this and loosens his grip.

"Oh, sorry." Eren apologized.

 

During your slumber, Eren was sleeping soundly, listening to your heartbeat against his ear. Strangely, he loved hearing the beating of your pulse. It was proof that you were with him. He smiled as he slept, embracing you like a stuffed animal, cuddled against you. His soft bed of hair tickled your neck. You didn't mind that he was this close anymore. You realized it before. You love Eren.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

"This is..." Levi opens a folder of documents he filled up in the past years.

"These are your personal keepings. I haven't looked over them but I figured you should." Hanji says as he went over papers.

"It's not helping..." Levi commented as he continuously flipped through contracts, old letters, and a photo.

"Are you sure? Nothing familiar?" Hanji raised a brow.

Levi whips out the small photo and ran his fingers over it, staring into it.

"Who's she?" Levi asks patiently.

"Huh?" Hanji leans in close to Levi, looking at the photo.

Her eyes widened to see that the photo revealed you. In a swift move, Hanji snatched the photo away from Levi, figuring out a lie within a second to cover up your tracks.

"Hey! This was the photo you stole from me a while ago! N-No wonder I couldn't find it!" Hanji stuffs the photo of you in her breast pocket and then rested her hands on her hips.

"What's her name?" Levi asks.

"Huh?" Hanji froze to come up with a plan.

"U-Uh... This is the first time you actually cared to ask." Hanji responded.

"It is?" Levi stares into space.

"Hey, what else do you have there--" Hanji reached for Levi's documents but as soon as she lays a finger on it, Levi slams it closed.

"If I recall, these are my 'personal keepings' so please don't touch them." Levi warned her.

"Um... Okay." 

"So.. About that girl in the photo... Is she your sister?" Levi asks.

"What? Oh, uhm... She's... A-A relative of mine's. She uh.... Disappeared I guess.--- Hey! How would you like to know about your story?" Hanji changes the subject afterwards.

"My story?" Levi repeated.

"Yeah like, how you became humanity's strongest soldier." Hanji says.

Levi stares at Hanji for a moment, then nods.

"Alright. Tell me how I earned this title." He responded.

 

Hanji begins how Levi was a thug from underground to his corporal status. Everything she explained was accurate, only, Hanji made sure that you weren't included within the story...


	31. Forget Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty short here. Lol most of my chapters are short in length and there's over 20 chaps hahaha.

The next morning, you headed upstairs to the area where Levi had shown you his "personal" room. You tried to turn the knob but for some reason, it wouldn't budge. You thought for a moment and retraced your steps as to why the door was unusually locked. 

"... Ugh... Dammit." You muttered as you slapped the door.

You remembered on the day of the invasion, Levi led you out the door and made sure he locked it with the key before he ran out with you. You wanted to bust open the door, break it open. But it was no use. 

 

Shit.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

 

"What? There's a box that Levi keeps upstairs?" Hanji asks.

"Yeah. I wanted to get it for him so that he could at least remember some of that stuff. All I have to do is take out all of the photos, letters, files of me and give him whatever there is left." You shrugged.

"Ah, so you want to help him remember too." Hanji winked.

"No, it's not like that... I just want the old Levi back. Y'know, the stoic man who would slap me on the back of the head with anything he could get his hands on, listening to his long speech of lectures, and hearing his everyday insults. The Levi I don't recognize has so much sympathy and a little more kindness towards me. It's so strange." You explained.

"Ah, I see. Why don't we just break down the door?" Hanji asks.

"We could try that." You smiled.

 

As soon as you led Hanji to the door, she decided to lunge at it to break it open.

"ARGH!" Hanji tried a couple times but failed to do so.

"Are you done?" You asked her.

"My shoulder is starting to ache." Hanji rubs her arm as she hissed.

"I think we should go ask for Reiner's help." She suggested.

"Huh?"

"He broke down the wall before. One simple door should do it." Hanji sighed.

"I guess we could." You nodded.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

"You want me to break this door open?" Reiner points at it.

"Yeah. It doesn't seem that difficult." You responded.

"Yeah, coming from someone who couldn't do it." He snorted.

"Hey, I can do it! It'll only take me---"

 

Before you knew it, Reiner bashes the door using his side. It swings open, granting access for you.

"...... Well done...." You said surprisingly.

"Where's my reward?" Reiner asked.

"It's in the cell." You replied as you made your way into the room, kneeling on the floor.

"Are you kidding me? No kisses for me, or anything like that?" Reiner leans against the wall.

"OOH! OOH! Kiss me!" Hanji exclaimed in excitement.

"Nevermind." Reiner rejected.

"Aww, I wanna know what it feels like to kiss a titan shifter." Hanji giggled.

"One day, if you do happen to catch my friend out there, I promise you can kiss him." Reiner mentioned.

"Friend?" You asked while you pulled the box out underneath the bed and blew away the dust bunnies.

"Can't say names." Reiner shrugged.

"Why not?" Hanji wondered.

"Just keeping a low profile about him. He'll come back for me, I'm certain." Reiner crossed his arms.

"I found it." You announced as you opened the box and fished through his things to collect your profile and everything that could unravel yourself.

"I'm going to burn these. Show this box to Levi. This'll help him." You carefully handed it to Hanji. as she looked around the room, scrutinizing the atmosphere.

"So... It must've been uncomfortable to get holed up in here." Hanji commented.

"Yeah, it sucks. You could definitely go crazy in this room. It's like an insane asylum." You answered.

"You were holed up in here?" Reiner asked.

"It's a long story. Here." You threw him a half pound frozen raw beef sealed in a sack.

"This is all I get?" Reiner complained.

"For opening one door, yeah." You tilted your head to the side while nodding.

"Make yourself feel comfortable. Hanji, you can keep a close eye on Reiner, right?" 

"That's my favorite part of the job." Hanji grinned.

"Alright then. Better than nothing. But a kiss would've been nice." Reiner sighed.

"You still have me~!" Hanji reminded him.

"I-I'll be going now." Reiner rushed out of the room while Hanji followed him.

"Give me some love, titan!" You hear her shout.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

As soon as you were outside, you dropped the papers and lit up a small match to create fire.

You dropped the match into the pile, creating smoke, flames, and an unpleasant smell.

"So long, Levi." You said, knowing that it was for the best that he had to forget you.

You watched it burn every single sheet of paper into crisp, crouching down to level with the rising flame. You fed more papers to it and continued to stare at it. The active fire reminded of how bodies were cremated, and it sickened you. Watching the paper cringe and turn into ashes felt like watching yourself turn into dust. 

You felt a hand on your shoulder, causing you to turn around.

"Don't touch it. It'll go out." The hand belonged to Eren as he crouched with you.

"That's what you told me when we first met." Eren reminded you.

".... Yeah." You smiled at the thought. 

"I was looking for you." Eren says as he rubs his nose with his finger to stop a small itch.

"How come?" You asked.

"I just want to know where you are. Just waking up in bed without you in the morning makes everything feel like a dream." Eren responded.

"So, what are you burning?" Eren asked.

"My image from Levi's brain." You closed your eyes.

"Hmm. I like that idea." Eren smiled innocently.

You knew that Eren was afraid of Levi. But knowing that you were going to spend more time with him rather than Levi, Eren strongly agreed to this plan.

"I feel a little sad about it." You stated.

"Why?" Eren tilts his head to view your face.

"It's kind of similar to.... How would you feel if I didn't remember you?" You made him think.

"If it's for the best, then I'll do it. As long as you are happy, I am happy." Eren held your hand, caressing it as he stood up, helping your lift your legs to stand.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah." He answered right away.

"Really?" You raised one brow.

"........." There was a long pause before his smile eventually fades away as he embraced you out of the blue.

 


	32. Show Me

"Here." 

 

".... A box?" 

 

"Open it."

 

 

His slender fingers ran across the wooden box, searching for an opening. When he found it, he opens the lid, and with a straight face, he grabs a hand full of photo kept in the box. He looks through them while Hanji stood beside him, taking a sneak peek of them.

"I..... I can't remember these people." Levi stated.

"This girl here, is Isabel. And that guy right beside you, is Farlan. They joined the Survey Corps along with you. Wherever you went, they'd follow." Hanji explained.

"Isabel.... Farlan...." Levi repeated.

"Where are they now?" Levi asked.

"Oh, uhm... They're in a better place now." Hanji clears her throat.

Levi was a bit surprised how a beautiful young girl like Isabel had lost her life in the battlefield. Same goes for Farlan. They were far too young to die.

"Hm." He hummed, slightly showing sympathy unknowingly.

"Were they my family?" Levi questioned Hanji.

"Yes, they were the closest family you've ever had." Hanji pats Levi's head.

"Hey, Hanji..." Levi grabs Hanji's wrist to stop her from patting.

"Yeah?" Hanji responded.

"...... Thank you for helping me.... If... If you are ever in need of help... Just come to me." Levi tells her.

Hanji blushes, never receiving such kind words from him before. 

"... Alright, who are you?" Hanji said in a teasingly way as her face turns red.

"What the hell are you talking about, four-eyes--- What's with your face?" Levi stares at Hanji, now in disgust rather than calm.

"Levi would never say such a thing to me! No! It doesn't even matter anymore! I like this Levi more than the old mean one!" Hanji embraces Levi, suffocating him with her breasts.

"Get off." Levi muffled under her.

"If I ever need your help, I will most definitely call for you!!!" Hanji spoke with integrity.

"I said get off." Levi didn't fight against Hanji, instead, he waited until she was done.

"You're my bestest friend! 'Till the end! 'Till the day I die! 'Till the day you die! 'Till death do us part!! I love you Levi!"

"Stop it...." He commented as he sighed.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

(Time skip)

For the rest of the day, you trained with Eren, using the 3D Maneuver gears. Eren was eventually grasping onto the concept of using it, yet, he was far from success. Eren was already good at hand to hand combat, not that he would hurt you to show his capabilities, but demonstrated it against Moblit. And when the day was finally over, you went over the things that Eren needed more improvement on.

"Landing... Turning.... Your combat skills.... Aaaand I think that's about it." You smiled as you panted while sweat dropped from your head to your neck.

"Okay. I'll do better. Sorry." Eren took a deep breath, kneeling on the ground.

"Psh, what are you apologizing for? This is training. Not everyone gets the hang of it right off the bat... Well.... Maybe except Levi." You giggled.

"Levi?" Eren repeats.

"Nevermind what I said. We should go take a shower." You say.

You realized how worried Eren became whenever you mentioned Levi's name. Not because he was scared, but because he was concerned of how you liked Levi that much.

Once you entered the hallway, you handed Eren a towel and quickly demonstrated how to use the shower. He was able to comprehend it and allowed you to shower yourself. You were thinking how much progress Eren made compared to when you first met him. He understood you, learned how to communicate with others, and seemingly able to read a few short sentences.

 

After you had finished cleaning up yourself, you brushed your teeth and dried your hair with the towel. You made your way downstairs to your cell room, having the slightest urge to check up on how Levi was doing but you knew you weren't allowed to do that. No one was stopping you. Not even Hanji. No one but you. 

It's for the best...

 

Lay down on your bed with a tank top and a pair of shorts. You still feel the heat from outside even though the day was getting dim.

You could hear the sound of the cell door open and close right after. You knew who came in, yet you didn't bother to check.

"What are you doing?" Eren asks.

"Staring at the ceiling like always." You responded casually.

"hm.... Well, you can always look at me if you don't like staring at the ceiling." Eren suggested.

"Yeah, I guess." You closed your eyes, relaxing.

After a few minutes passed, you felt a little exhausted due to the fact that you went to do some training with Eren. Three candles were lit and set aside on a desk beside you. Same for Eren's room. And even though there were six candles lit up, it actually created a satisfying light throughout the cell room.

It was until then that, as usual, Eren broke silence with a question.

"(First)?" Eren called out.

"Hm." You answered.

"Since... You taught me how to use the gear today... Can you... Teach me how to kiss?" Eren asks.

Out of nowhere, you choked on your spit. You quickly sat up and began to cough unstoppable.

"(First)? Are you okay?" Eren rushes his way to you, not knowing what to do.

"Yeah..." You cleared your throat.

Your face turned deep red, your cheeks heating up like a hot tomato that's about to explode. You lightly punched your chest to get rid of the annoying cough.

"(First)?" Eren wanted to make sure you were okay.

"I'm fine..." You slightly panted as you feel a heavy beating within your heart and a turn in your stomach.

"Eren, I don't even know how to kiss someone." A flashback memory hits you when Levi forcefully kissed you.

"Oh..." Eren sadly says.

"Can I just kiss you then?" Eren asked for permission.

"...... Fine... Just. One. Kiss." You cringed for a second, not being prepared for something like this. 

You took a deep breath as you closed your eyes tight, waiting for a pair of lips to touch you. 

Two hands rubbed on your bare arms, causing you to flinch and back away an inch.

He came close to your lips, you could feel his warm breath blowing every second. His lips nearly touched yours until he passed them.

"I love you, (First)." He whispered in your ear, causing you to open your eyes in embarrassment. 

"E-Eren!" You said in shock.

Before you could say a word, he licks your neck, causing you to grunt. You tightly closed your eyes, your shoulders shrugged up, your hand desperately grasping onto his shirt. You lifted your head and nervously bit your bottom lip.

His hands wandered wherever. He pulls in your waist, causing you to fall back on your bed. 

"Eren! Wait!" You whispered harshly.

You were stopped each time he pressed his lips onto your soft, sensitive skin.

"D-Don't...!" You turned your head on one side, slightly pushing him away.

His hand gently rubs your thigh while the other held him as a support to hold him up from falling onto you. He leans his face closely to yours.

"Tell me.... Tell me what makes you feel good.... I want to know." Eren spoke in a soft voice.

"No! I-I won't!"

"Why not?" Eren tilts his head, grabbing onto your chin to force you to look at him.

"Because! I'm not ready!" You moved his hand away from your face and shielded it with your palms.

"Please don't be afraid." Eren says.

"I'm not afraid!"

"Then show me your face... I want to see you, (first)." Eren smiles as he saddled on top of you and grabs your wrist, pulling them away to reveal your red flushed face.

"That's better." He commented as he secured your wrists on either side.

"Eren, please stop it." You were suddenly feeling terrified by this idea.

"I-I can't do this, let me go!" You squirmed under him.

"I'm not Levi." Eren grabs your face, staring straight into your orbs.

"Look at me, (first)... I am not Levi." Eren wanted to convince you.

It was seconds later that you began to shed small tears from the corner of your eyes.

"Has he... Done this to you before?" Eren asked.

No response from you caused Eren to embrace your fallen form.

"I'm here... I'm here for you, (First)... Don't be afraid." Eren nuzzled against your neck.

Your muscles began to relax in relief. You hugged him back, knowing that you were going to be okay...

 

Thank you, Eren.

 

 


	33. We Meet Again???

The next day, you got ready for the morning sun and began wearing your casual clothes. You wore a white dress shirt with an oversize sweater and a long skirt down below your knees. You put on your worn out shoes and let your hair fall down. You picked up a basket from the kitchen. Right before you left, Hanji stops you in curiosity.

"Hey, where are you going?" Hanji asks.

"I'm going to do some grocery shopping. We're running low on food so..." You fiddled with the handle of the basket, looking down.

"Oh, okay then.... Did anyone tell you why Eren can't go into town with you?" Hanji says.

"No, but I figured that if I do bring him, certain people will recognize him. Not everyone sees him as an unarmed young man so I know what's coming." You nodded.

"Ah, good." Hanji smiles.

"So.... How is Levi?" You asked.

"He's doing well. He doesn't seem to remember that box you gave me. Nothing. He doesn't seem to be making any progress.

"Oh... Well, I hope he goes back to the way he used to be." You gave a small laugh.

"Yeah, same." Hanji nods.

"I guess I'll be off into town." You announced.

"Don't be gone too long. All of us will starve, heh heh." Hanji waves goodbye to you as you made your way through the door.

 

Once you entered the town, you remembered how it was like to live a life there. It was always lively and happy. But there are still good and bad people who live together. You made sure to buy enough bread with butter and cheese. You weren't particularly a vegan so you also bought some meat and set them in the basket. You talked to the relatives of the people back at the headquarters, wanting to check on them through you. You seemed to know almost everyone in town. It was peaceful after Wall Sina had broken down thanks to Reiner. (And no, that wasn't a compliment)

Still, there would be homeless people living outside without a roof over their heads. Sometimes you would purposely come across them to offer a fair amount of food from your basket. They would thank you and eat it right away. Others like orphaned childrens would shyly accept your offer and run away without given appreciation. But you don't blame them. Homeless people would give you the nickname "Angel from Heaven" and up until now, you didn't notice that. Still, you walked and enjoyed half of your time outside where people are, safe and sound.

 

 

"Wakey wakey sleepyhead! We got a big---.... Levi?" As soon as the four-eyed woman entered the infirmary, she noticed the raven-haired man had disappeared.

"Oh no... Ohhhh no..." Hanji began to hyperventilate.

"ERWINNN!!!!" Hanji busted through the blonde man's office uninvitingly.

"Yes?" Erwin looks up to see Hanji covered in sweat.

"I can't find Levi! Where did he go!? Is he here somewhere? He shouldn't be out of bed yet!" Hanji messed up her crazy hair, panicking.

"Relax--"

"I can't relax! Ohhhh what's even worse than having him disappear from his bed while recovering??" Hanji sighs.

"Ah, earlier, Levi asked me for permission to go into town today. He said he wants to stretch his legs for a bit." Erwin smiled innocently.

"HE WHAT!?????" Hanji shrieked.

"Hm? What's wrong with that?" Erwin asked curiously.

"THIS IS ALL MY FAULT!! I GOTTA FIND HIM!!!" Hanji rushes out the room and exited the headquarters to avoid your meeting with Levi.

"I can't have them see each other!!!" Hanji exclaimed as she sprinted through the woods.

 

 

 

"Thank you." You slightly bowed to the old woman who gave you leaves to make tea. 

"No problem, deary. You have a nice day. Here's your change." The woman's hand trembled, as if she was barely able to hold one ounce.

"No, that's alright. Keep it. I'll be on my way now. Thanks again." You kindly folded her hands to cup the change in her fragile hands as she hesitantly nodded.

"Oh, thank you... Please come again." She waves to you as you nodded in politeness.

You walked across the store to the bakery. You wanted to buy some butter and milk from there. Once you entered the shop, you noticed that there was barely anyone there. You obviously knew that the man who runs the place was in the back kitchen, baking foods while you were in his shop. When you realized there wasn't any milk left, you felt bummed, yet, you were able to purchase some butter.

"Thank you." You spoke.

"Ah, you're welcome miss! Don't forget to come back soon, alright?" He smiled as you made your way out the door.

After you exited from the shop, you seem to be spotting a familiar facing wandering around town. You thought your eyes were just playing tricks on you but before you knew it, you spotted Levi walking. He wore a dress shirt with an unbuttoned black suit over and pants. You noticed that he didn't wear any bandages. He must've healed already. You knew what you had to do: Hide.

"Oh no..." You muttered in a low voice.

You saw that Levi recently entered the bakery shop you just came out. You were slowly walking away in a casual manner, looking back to see how he was doing. You saw that Levi was having a small conversation with the bakery owner. The owner shook his head and saw you through the window. You flinched as he points at you. Levi followed where the owner's fingers pointed and yes, he was looking at you.

_Crap..._

You began to run off within the second that Levi looked into your eyes. You pushed through some people and tried to get away from the area as soon as possible. Your heart began to pound. You began to sweat from your forehead. You were feeling hot all of a sudden. 

_Crap crap crap..._

Once you've come to a stop, you turned back to see that he stopped following you. With that, you sighed and leaned against a wall. You closed your eyes to rest for a brief moment. Running with a basket of food was tiring.... You then noticed a shadow casted upon your form. You opened your eyes to reveal a tall man with a smirk on his face.

"Hey there, little lady. You don't mind sharing, don't you?" He asks.

You were aware of people who would take advantage of you. Theses were one of the faces that would fit into that category. WIth a response, you shook your head and held onto the handle close to your chest.

"No, leave me alone." You stood up for yourself.

"Tch, just hand it over--" He attempts to pull the basket from your hands but you fought.

"Ngh! No!!" You hugged the handle as tight as you could, never letting go.

"Give it to me..!" He was starting to win over your baskets of fresh food.

"Stop it!!" You wouldn't let go of the basket until....

 

 

"Hey, leave her alone." 

 

You recognized the voice. You turned to see that Levi was approaching to you. His pace seems to fasten each time he took a step. With that, you released the basket and ran off, causing the thief to fall back. Once Levi made his way to the man, he quickly kicks the man on his side and snatches the basket away from him.

"Tch, filthy scum." He commented before he rushes after.

You didn't stop running. Your long skirt was slowing you down. You held up the hem to level with your knee so it'd be easier to run. But it wouldn't work when you hear that voice call again.

"Hey, lady! You forgot something!" He shouted. 

Despite some people watching, you kept running. 

"No, he can't." You huffed.

You made your way into an alleyway with no open way. You wanted to kill yourself for making the wrong decision, thinking it'd be faster to lose him. With no option, your knees fell to the ground as you leaned against the wall, covering your face.

Once he caught up with you, he stops for a short breath, then hands out the basket of food.

"Here...." He says.

"Leave me alone!" You shouted.

"I retrieved this for you." He panted.

"Take it! I don't want it anymore! Leave me alone!!" You closed your eyes, covering your face.

"Come on, don't be such a little brat. You were the one who took the last butter huh?" Levi recalled.

"If you want the butter so bad, just take it!" You cried.

"Who do you think you are? I was trying to save you from that jerk back there and this is the thanks I get? Tch." Levi drops the basket and made his way to you. He kneeled and grabbed ahold of your wrist but you fought.

"Let go!! Stop it!! No!!" You kept turning away, hoping your hair was covering your face.

"Oi, look at me, you spoiled---" Once he was able to see your face, he began to froze.

From what it seemed, he was speechless. You closed your eyes, afraid of what he'll do next.

"You.... I... I've seen you before..." Levi commented as he removed strands of hair from your face to get a clear view.

 

_Well, you had a good run...._

 

 

 


	34. Recognition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a short chapter here cuz it's getting late lol.

_"You.... I... I've seen you before..." Levi commented as he removed strands of hair from your face to get a clear view._

_Well, you had a good run...._

 

 

 

"Please, no." You thought in your head as he leans in closer, scrutinizing your facial features. It seemed as if he recognized them well, causing his memory to work like a factory. You attempted to pull away from him but failed to do so. He still hasn't said anything yet. You were getting more nervous to his constant staring. You closed your eyes shut each time you opened them to check on him. 

 

 

"Aren't you a relative of Hanji's?" Levi finally spoke.

"Eh?" You opened your eyes widely, feeling a small emotion of relief. All of a sudden, you were able to breathe normally again.

"The missing one. You're the missing girl in the photo that Hanji mentioned." He recalled.

"W-What are you talking about!? Release me!!" You pushed him away and tried to run off, but he quickly caught your wrist once more.

"Let go, you psycho!!" You pulled away as he stood firm.

"I'm not crazy. Don't act like you don't know Hanji, you stubborn brat." Levi glared at you while you fought.

"You made her worry." He pulls you close to his chest, causing you to yelp.

"So now, I'm going to take you to her." Levi stated as he bent his knee to lower himself.

"What the hell are you---" Suddenly, you were thrown over Levi's strong shoulder blades in a swift move.

"Put me down! I don't know you!!" You pounded his back with your fists like a squirming child.

He ignored your demands and began to carry you off along with your basket of foods in the other hand.

"Put me down this instant!!!" You were obviously causing a scene with your screaming yet no one stepped up to save you because most of them knew who Levi was.

 

 

 

"Where did he go??" Hanji shouted as she huffed.

"Excuse me sir, have you seen a short man walking around?-- Oh! Ma'am! Have you seen a scary-lookin' guy around here???" Hanji begged for the townspeople's answers but none had any.

"ARGH!! This isn't helping! Do I always have to do everything by myself!???" Hanji pulls her hair in frustration while people around her watched her, as if she was the craziest woman.

"Why did this have to happen?? ON THIS DAY TOO!??" Hanji cried remorsefully. 

"Gahhh it's all my fault! I ruined everything! I miscalculated this plan!! I'm screwed!!!" Hanji shouted, throwing her hands up.

 

Suddenly, Hanji hears you scolding from a distance. She followed the voice to see that you were being carried onto Levi's shoulder.

"Unhand me you filthy--!"

"(First)???" You weren't able to see Hanji yet you could hear her voice calling out.

"Hanji! Tell him to put me down---" Before you could finish your last word, Levi drops you on your butt right in front of Hanji.

"I found her." Levi tells Hanji.

"Ah...." Hanji watched in surprise, not sure what was going on.

"H-Hanji!" You embraced her as she stood frozen.

"L-Levi..." Hanji awkwardly wraps her arms around you as she stared at him.

"You should be thanking me for finding her. She was such an annoying brat... Now that you two have rejoiced, I'd like to say that we're even." Levi stated.

Hanji began to grasp where Levi was coming from. She then whispers something in your ear.

"Just go along with it." She commanded as she squeezes you tight.

 

 

"Oh my goodness!! Where the hell have you been, (First)!! Why in God's name would you even run away!??" Hanji cried out dramatically.

"Uh-- I-I'm so sorry Hanji! I will not to run away from you anymore! I miss you so much!" You acted.

"Promise me that you'll never disappear from my sight again!" Hanji faked some tears as you nodded.

"I'm sorry!!!" You replied.

From Levi's vision, the two of you seemed to be under a single spot light with withered roses falling from the sky like snow, playing out a cheesy emotional scene with sparkles shining everywhere.

"Hey, can we wrap this up? I wanna go home now." Levi interrupts as he fishes through the basket and takes out the butter.

"What are you doing??" You pulled away from Hanji and saw that he shoved the butter in his suit pocket.

"You said that I can take the butter if I want it so bad. Well, I do. And in exchange, I will leave you alone. Good day." Levi returns you the basket and began walking up ahead, leaving you and Hanji to sigh.

 

"What the hell was that back there? Levi told me that I was a relative of your's." You said as you wiped a sweat drop from your head.

"Oh, well, Levi found a photo of you in his old document folder so I took it away from him, lying that it was mine's. Strange, he was asking questions about it. Like, your name, your relationship with me, and all that stuff." Hanji explained.

"..... Good call." You said as you watched Levi walk away in a distance.

"Well, as long as there was no close connection or any recognition of your face, we should be okay." Hanji theorized.

"Yeah... He scared me at first... Sheesh." You carried your basket with the handle as you followed Hanji back to the headquarters.

"So... Did Levi want to repay you for treating him in the infirmary?" You asked.

"I guess. It looks like it. He told me to call for him if I was ever in need of help. I guess he wanted to return my 'ol' missing relative', eh?" Hanji narrowed her eyes towards you.

"Let's just say we're cousins." You responded.

"Jeez, he scares me. I felt like I was going to have a heart attack." You hovered your chest with a palm to feel a calm pulse.

"Yeah, well... Me too.... Me too." Hanji smiled, knowing that Levi failed to recognize you personally.

 

 


	35. Small Cause

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol I listened to this song while updating:3 Pretty chill...  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKmYEPg-tB8

As soon as you got back, you could see that Levi was, sitting down at his usual squad table while he applied butter onto the bread. He ignored your presence, his eyes glued to his own food. 

"I'm going to leave the food here..." You whispered to Hanji as you quietly walked away from the area.

And before you set your foot out the room, Levi sighs, causing you to pause for a moment.

"You have nowhere to go?" Levi asks, still eyeing at his succulent bread.

"... What?" You turned your head towards him.

"U-Uh, Levi, before she ran away, she used to live here." Hanji explains to him.

"Oh... I see." Levi nods as he took a bite from his food.

"Forget about what I asked." He says as he rests his elbow on the table, leaning forward against the table.

 

You briefly watched him sit alone at the usual table. You remembered the time when Petra and Auruo would always sit beside him since he sat at the end. You sat across from him, Erd and Gunther sat across from each other as well. You remembered of the fun jokes Auruo would bring up, Petra complaining about how much they suck, Levi not giving a shit about it. Those were the days.

"Ah, I feel so tired." Hanji announced as she took a chair and sat across from Levi, being leaning backwards, leaving one arm hanging while the other rests on the table.

"Then get some sleep. Don't come and bother me." Levi replied as he took another piece of bread and spreads butter onto it with the butterknife. 

"Eh?" Hanji looks at Levi in surprise.

"What?" Levi glances at her.

"Is that why you barely eat my food? 'Cuz there was no butter?" Hanji points at his bread.

"Bread tastes like shit without butter. It's stale." Levi commented.

"It doesn't make sense, you love stale food."

"It's fucking disgusting, what're you talking about?" Levi raises a brow in defense.

"You never add anything to your tea. No sugar, no honey, just plain tea, with plain bread, and plain soup." Hanji recalled.

"Shut up." He mumbled, growing tired of her.

 

A short moment of silence fills the room until Hanji breaks it.

"Soooo you didn't notice anything familiar with that girl, huh?" Hanji laces her fingers together, leaning forward to support her upper body using her elbows.

"Am I supposed to?" He gave her a quick glance again.

"N-No, I was just wondering."

"Then don't bother asking me ridiculous questions like that. I'm eating." Levi shuts her out completely, ignoring her existence, and focused on filling his empty stomach.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Later on, you entered the cell room and lay on your bed, feeling your chest with one palm. You closed your eyes, feeling the small rapid beating of your heart. You took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Hmm." You hummed in relaxation.

"What's wrong?" You could hear Eren's voice as he sat on his bed with chains securing his wrists.

"Today.... I saw Levi in town." You started off.

"He saw me...." You opened your eyes, staring blankly into the ceiling.

"Are you okay? Did he do anything to you?" Eren began attempting to break away from his chains, you could hear them rattle.

"He didn't do anything. He just... Didn't remember me." You covered your eyes with one arm.

"..... Oh, that's a relief." Eren calmed down a bit, leaning back.

 

Strangely, a part of you wanted Levi to remember you. You didn't know why, but it hurt you when Levi treated you like a stranger. But you knew there were boundaries that you shouldn't cross over. You felt as if this was your punishment. But for what? What wrongness have you committed? One thing for sure, you're indeed innocent and you can easily prove that. 

"(First), are you alright?' Eren wanted to make sure you were able to respond to him. 

"Yeah, I'm fine." You drowsily spoke.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

(Time skip)--

 

"And who the hell are you?" Reiner peeks at the intruder from the corner of his eye.

"They say that my name is Levi, humanity's strongest soldier." Levi introduces himself.

"Humanity's strongest eh? That's just a title, it doesn't mean anything." Reiner rudely replied.

"I just want to let you know that it is my job to take care of you. I hear there's a guy like you in another cell." Levi crosses his arms, leaning against the wall.

"Hmm." Reiner studies Levi's body from head to toe.

He then smirks and lets out a chuckle.

"Oh the irony!" Reiner began laughing loudly, closing his eyes and forming small teeny tears.

"Care to share the joke?" Levi commented.

"It's funny how you're the guy that I nearly killed." Reiner trembled in hilarity. 

"You're the one who tried to save that girl from getting herself killed." Reiner sniffed as he wipes the small tears away.

"What girl? Who?" Levi asks, showing no interest or curiosity.

"Y'know, that chick with (h/c) hair and (e/c) colored eyes." Reiner described.

"That girl?" Levi and Reiner were practically on the same page at this moment.

"Yeah, you two must be close or something... Heheheheh." Reiner couldn't stop thinking of that moment when he nearly crushed Levi's body like a pulp.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Levi sighs.

"Aww that's too bad. I must've crushed that little head of your's."

"You did." Levi approaches Reiner's cell, unfolding his arms.

 

Reiner paused for a moment before he could speak.

"Y'know, you could be losing something really important if your head is that damaged. It's a shame." Reiner shook his head in a sarcastic way.

"It's not that bad, considering the fact that I'm still alive and you're kept in this filthy cell, all because you broked down Wall Sina." Levi stated.

"That just goes to show that you don't fuck with soldiers like us." 

"Hey! Didn't anyone tell you that I restored the wall and clogged the hole I made? Sheesh, show some respect, shorty!" Reiner complained.

"...... Enjoy staying locked up." Levi glared at the man before he left him alone.

"Heh, asshole." Reiner smirked, knowing that he lost against Levi.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

"(Fiiiiirrrrst) I wanna hold youuuu." Eren lazily moaned as he waves his arms towards you in a zombified state.

"Alright alright, I'm comin' over." You got up from your bed and made your way to Eren's side of the room.

"Yehhhh." He softly cheered.

"Just don't squeeze me too tight---"

"Don't worry, I won't. I'll be careful with you." Eren answered as he wraps his arms around you in a firm way while you groaned.

You knew that Eren tried his best to hold back, but in the end, you'll always end up in one of his suffocating bear hugs which you were getting a little used to by now. As usual, Eren made sure his ear was pressed up against your chest to hear your rhythmic heartbeat. You were saddled onto his waist as he sat up, embracing you.

"I love you too much to let go." Eren teases, swaying you left and right, squeezing you happily.

"Yeah, I know..." You let out a small giggled before you played with his hair.

His shoulders shrug up, getting more comfortable with the position in which he was in. 

 

 

"Are you two done?" 

You hear someone say as you quickly pulled away to reveal Levi standing in front of the cell.

"L-Levi! When did you get here?" You backed away from Eren but he was holding onto your wrists to stop you.

"I was finished talking to that blonde idiot in the other cell." Levi answered.

"O-Oh, is that it?" You replied nervously.

"I didn't expect to find you in there, (First)." Levi wraps his fingers around the bars of the cell door.

"I'm in here to take care of him." You replied.

Levi takes a good long look at Eren before commenting.

"Is he the other titan shifter?" Levi continued to stare at Eren with bored eyes as Eren bothered not to look away with his calm yet, nervous ones.

"Hm, he doesn't look like it." Levi spoke.

"He's...... harmless." You responded nervously.

"I can see that. Assuming that you're all over him." 

"She was comforting me." Eren smiles.

"Well, I hope you don't mind if I take her away from you for a little while, titan-shifter." Levi requested.

"What?" You got off the bed and stood beside Eren.

"The blonde idiot back there mentioned something that I think we should discuss in private," He explained.

"B-But, I have nothing to do with you---"

"It's urgent."

 

_I must know...._


	36. Trust Issues

"Please come in. We need to talk." Levi kindly escorted you to his office where Hanji previously showed him.

Once you walked in, you realized how clean his office was, more than usual. Except, it seemed empty. There was barely anything on display. No dust or dirt. Just a plain desk up front behind drawn drapes to prevent the light from seeping through.

"Still a clean freak I see." You mumbled to yourself.

"Did you say something?" Levi startles you as he shuts the door. You noticed that he didn't lock it, which caused your tensed muscles to relax.

"Ah-- No, sir." You replied, shaking your head in denial.

"Well, if you don't mind, take a seat there." Levi points you to nearest couch.

You sat on the couch with much comfort, while Levi settled on his chair. He stares at you, studying your figure, then turns away for a brief moment.

"So, how are you? I uh, heard from Hanji that you lost your memories?" You asked.

"I'm fine. My memories will come back." Levi answered.

"Oh... I see. I believe I should still address you as 'Corporal Levi', right?" You shrugged.

"Call me whatever, I don't really care about names right now... What I don't understand is... What.." Levi's orbs were drawing you in, giving your full attention to him.

"What is our relationship? Between you and I?" Levi squinted, sounding slightly desperate about it.

"Our relationship?" You raised your brows.

"Yes. If you don't mind, I'd like to listen to your story between you and I before I lost my memories--"

"A-Actually, I do mind, Corporal."

"Aren't you supposed to help me?" Levi tilted his head to one side with confusion.

"Our relationship... Isn't as big as you think, Corporal. It's not that important." You lied.

"..... Are you sure?" Levi asked.

"Yes, I'm positive. My job is to take care of Eren, nothing else. You and I are only acquaintances, sir." You nodded.

"Hmm... How long have you lived here?" Levi wondered.

"It's been awhile so I haven't been able to keep track." You responded.

"How can we be acquaintances? Do I barely come across you?" Levi asks.

"Yes." You hesitantly replied.

"That sounds ridiculous...." Levi commented, standing up, making his way towards you, step by step, causing your nervous reaction to unexpectedly spring up again.

"It's a shame that I barely know a brat like you. But I think..." Levi stops and sits beside you, laid back, crossing his leg, one over the other.

"I think it'd be nice to know you a little more." He says with a stone face.

"Corporal..." You began to slowly move away from the couch inch by inch.

"Why are you leaving so soon?" Levi noticed your little escape plan, aware that you were going to run from him.

"I-I'm not..." You spoke cautiously.

"Then why are you scooting away? You shouldn't be afraid of me." Levi responded stoically.

"I-It's not that."

"Then what is it?" 

"I'm just a little worried about Eren right now." You made up an excuse to get away from him. You knew you were playing a dangerous game with this man. Though he does not know. If he ever gets a glimpse of who you really are, it's game over.

"If you're so worried about him, maybe you shouldn't have left him behind and run away." Levi hunches over, resting his elbows on his lap, folding his hands together.

"What do you want from me?" You asked in a calm manner.

"I just want answers, nothing else. But I won't force you. I just thought you could help me clear my head. Shitty-glasses isn't helping enough." Levi explained.

You felt different towards Levi. He was more patient and thoughtful. His attitude and daily insults seem to simmer down. Overall, he was a soft-spoken man with caring words. No hesitation of asking and answering. You noticed one of his eyes had a tint of a brighter color of navy blue. 

"I have no answers for you, I'm sorry, Corporal." You stood up to bow in apologization. 

"Why are you refusing to answer all my questions?" Levi asks in curiousity.

"It sounds as if you're hiding something from me, and it's very unpleasing." 

"I don't know you very well, sir. That is all I have to say." You responded.

 

Levi thought for a moment, processing your words in his head. 

"...... Really?" He says in a quiet tone.

"Yes."

"Are you telling me the truth?" 

"Yes."

"It sounds as if you're lying to me...." Levi turns to your standing figure.

"W-What?" You held your wrist in comfort according to your nervous habit of rubbing your skin.

"Now that I think about it.... I feel as if Hanji, the armored titan, and you are lying to me. I don't know who is really telling me the truth." Levi sighed.

"It's like you guys are playing some mind trick to my head." Levi feels his temple, rubbing the small pain that was progressively fading away.

"I've had dreams about you countless times. And no matter what I see, it's always you who appeared." Levi claimed

"C-Corporal--"

"I was doing unpleasant things to you, and I cannot say, for it is too much for you to hear." He argued.

 

"Look, I know that you're Hanji's cousin or whatever. Even from a far distance, it's as if I can hear your voice calling before I could wake up." Levi spoke.

"It's just a dream messing with your mind--" You interfered.

"But it's telling me something... Why do they appear? The armored titan told me earlier that I had a close female comrade, possibly you."

"Levi.... You just need more rest. You must be hallucinating." You replied.

"Could it be a symptom I am experiencing?" He asks.

"I'm sure it is, Corporal." You answered.

 

Before he could open his mouth for another word, he kept his lips sealed, his head down and his arms loose.

 

_"Then how can I possibly remember anything?"_

 


	37. Sleepless Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter.

_"Why isn't anyone helping me?"_

 

_"Please... Someone... Anyone?"_

 

_"Is there anyone?"_

 

 

 

Levi jolted upwards, panicking for a brief moment, sweating from his head to his neck. He panted, calming his nerves. He realized that it was still nighttime. His curtains were drawn and his candle light had burnt out. It was dark, he could barely see anything. Levi looks around until his vision matched the darkness'. He closes his tired eyes and exhaled a sigh. He frowned, thinking of his recent dream. Just before he'd awaken, there you were, tied up, crying under him, pleading for help and mercy. Pleading for Eren. 

Eren...

Eren.....

Eren......

 

That was all he heard. Apart from the screams, apart from the cries, all he heard was Eren's name calling out.

"Why...?" Levi murmured to himself, staring at his sweat covered palm.

"Why would I do such a cruel thing?" He thought.

 

"Tch!" Levi tightly closed his eyes, running his hair through his fingers. 

It was true, alright. He was experiencing nightmares that wouldn't leave him be. And he has no idea why they haunt him. Levi couldn't deal with the nightmares, so he headed downstairs to the cafeteria with a lit candle and sat there throughout the night, fighting hard to stay awake. He shook his head to avoid drowsiness. He splashed a cold cup of water in his face to keep up with the night. Nothing would work. If Levi were to fall asleep again, who knows what other nightmares could he possibly see. 

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Man, I'm starving, I could eat a horse!" In the morning, Hanji made her way into the kitchen.

She takes out the butter and bread, waltzing out the door and into the cafeteria, only to drop the wasted food after seeing a collapsed Levi.

"What the---" Hanji rushes over to him, taking off her cozy sweater and wrapping it over his shoulders.

"You're cold!!" Hanji picked up his upper body and felt his head to check for any fever.

Hanji could feel the wetness of his collar. His eyes were forming dark circles underneath. It seemed like he was peacefully asleep. 

"Levi... Levi wake up..." Hanji softly whispers, shaking him.

Levi began mumbling words, possibly talking in his sleep.

"Levi." Hanji called to him.

His whispers gradually became audible and clear.

"Different.....Everyone.... Stay...."

"Levi!" Hanji shouts, causing the raven-haired man to gasp and jolt upwards, smashing his head against her forehead.

Levi grasped tightly onto Hanji's collar, not wanting to let go. His eyes were widely opened only for a second before they were closed again.

"Get away from me-" Levi roughly pushes the woman away from him as he rubs his eye in frustration.

_Dammit! I fuckin' fell asleep!_

 

"Levi, are you alright?" Hanji asked.

"Of course I---" Right after he sat up, he was brought back down, due to dizziness.

"Whoa there!" Fortunately, Hanji catches him in time.

"Hanji.... I'm seeing things... Things that I don't like...." Levi clenched onto her shirt once more, trembling.

"Ah, it must be the damage that has been done to your brain, Levi---"

"Don't make such lame excuses, that's not the right answer..." He sighed.

"I'm doing abnormal things to her..."

"Who?"

"(First)... I dreamt of keeping her locked in a room... It's creepy..." He replied.

"(First)? What? That's ridiculous!" Hanji nervously responded.

"Isn't it?" Levi slowly picked up his two feet and returned Hanji's sweater.

He began making his way out of the cafeteria.

"H-Hey! Where are you going??" Hanji shouted.

 

"I'm going to that blonde idiot." 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

"Hmm." You hummed in frustration and annoyance.

"What's wrong?" Eren asked, tilting his head.

"I can't sleep. I don't know why..." You yawned.

"Oh......" Eren turns away, searching for a solution or answer.

"(First)! I remembered picking up a book in the 'libary'." Eren stated.

"Yeah? What is it?" You closed your eyes in tiredness.

"The book says that there's a... M-Myth about people who have trouble sleeping." 

"Oh?"

"Yea... It says that if you are having trouble sleeping, it must be that you were in someone's dream that time." Eren looked back to see that you had fallen fast asleep. In surprise, he watched you relax in your bed.

"I'm sorry, (First)... I won't do it again." 

 

 

 

 


	38. Missing Pieces

"Oi! You! Wake up!" Levi spoke in a harsh tone yet stayed calm.

He shook the bars, enough to make them rattle.

"Ngh, what do you want, shorty?" Reiner quickly covers his ears to soften the nerve racking noise.

"Get up, I want answers." Levi responded, ignoring the nickname that Reiner had given him. 

"Answers?" Reiner muffled in his pillow.

"Yes." Levi releases the bars, resting his hands on his sides.

"'bout what?" Reiner groaned as he turned on one side to face Levi.

"Tell me what you know about the girl." Levi demanded.

"What girl? The crazy chick with glasses?" Reiner yawned.

"No, her cousin, (First)." Levi was running out of patience each time Reiner did not comprehend his words.

"Hey, you don't look so hot. Did you not get enough sleep or somethin'?" Reiner noticed how Levi had dark circles underneath his eyes. His hair was out of place and his face was pale. 

"Are you sure you---"

"I'm the one asking questions here." Levi interrupted.

"Answer me, dammit." He glared.

"Alright alright, just calm down for a sec, I'll give you answers 'kay?" Reiner sat up, stretching out his arms and let out an audible yawn.

Right after Reiner turns to Levi again, he noticed that the tired man was slumping onto the floor. 

"I'm fine. Tell me." Levi leans against the cell bars, taking deep breaths.

"uh, okay..." Reiner clears his throat.

"All I know is that Eren really likes her because she means something to him. And uhm.... If you still have that old box, it was from her. I don't know why but, she took out some stuff like photos and documents and burned them before the four-eyed chick gave it to you and---"

"She what?" Levi spoke softly due to his sudden drowsiness. 

"burned photos and documents."

"Why?" 

"I don't know. If I did, I probably would've told you." Reiner answered.

".... Go on..." 

"I'm not sure if this is real but--- Well, she did say that she was--- But it could've been a joke so---"

"Spit it out." Levi commanded.

"..... She once mentioned a room that could quote on quote 'make you go crazy'. I think she was locked in that one room, though I'm not sure." Reiner sighed as he lay back on his bed with hands resting underneath his head like a cushion.

"A room?" Levi's eyes widened in realization. 

He remembered in his dream that he kept you locked up in a room. He slowly began to piece things together, yet he still didn't understand it. If the room from his dream is accurate as the room Reiner had mentioned then....

"So it's all true..." Levi murmured to himself. 

"Is that all you need? It's still early in the morn so I'm gonna--"

"Show me the room." Levi got back on his feet.

"What? Right now?"

Levi found a key hidden in the walls, returning to Reiner and unlocked the cell door. He finds it strange how he was able to remember where he hid the spare.

"I'm releasing you to take me to that room." Levi stated as he opened the door wide.

"Che, I never expect you would ever need my help." Reiner smirked as he casually walked out of his prison room and up the stairs.

"Don't fall behind now." Reiner warned him with a smile.

"Don't insult me." Levi growled under his breath.

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

"Here we are." Reiner shows Levi the way to the room upstairs.

Once Levi wrapped his fingers around the knob, the door began to collapse, giving way.

"Oh, that... I broke it down because it was locked earlier." Reiner scratches his head with a nervous laugh escaping from his lips.

Levi inspects the room. He could picture you sleeping on the bed with a peaceful look on your face. 

"So... This was where (First) was imprisoned..?" Levi sighed, sitting down on the bed, leaning over to rest his elbows above his knees.

"Am I done here?" Reiner interrupted.

"No." Levi mumbled.

 

_They're real... I did it.. I was a twisted man with a sadistic smile plastered on my face while torturing (First)._

 

"What else do you want from me?" Reiner shrugged as he shook his head in disappointment, wanting to get back to bed.

"Was I ever in a close relationship with this woman?" Levi asks.

"Hell if I know. All I can say is that... You would put your life on the line for her." Reiner responded.

"Hm?"

"During the brief invasion, I attempted to take Eren back to the old facility. You should see the look on her face, she was like the Goddess of Death. She was so desperate to retrieve Eren from me. 'I'll kill you!' she screamed at me. Oh man was my heart pounding. I thought she was going to take me down. I knew it was wrong for me to do it but, I had to kill her in order to succeed in capturing Eren. But suddenly, before I could do anything... There you were, pushing her out of the way, telling her to stop. And that was when I nearly killed you." Reiner explained as he points at Levi.

"And... When she dragged me out of my shell, she told me to stay put and impaled my arms to the ground. I was afraid they were going to kill me for what I've done.... My gaze followed her every step of the way. She wanted to check up on Eren. Then she went to check on you. Well, as it seems, I think, if it wasn't for her, you'd be dead for sure." Reiner informed him.

"So.... She saved my life... Do you know why she ran away?" Levi asked.

"What? when?" Reiner questioned him.

"Hanji told me that she ran away. I crossed paths with her back at the village." Levi explained.

"Where was I during this? I can't recall such a thing." Reiner wondered.

"You were there. Back at HQ." 

"Whattaya mean (First) ran away? She would never leave Eren and run off." Reiner crosses his arms, leaning against the wall.

"So are you saying that Hanji was lying to me this entire time?" Levi quirked an eyebrow.

"Look pal, I'm sure we're not talking about the same (First) here. Like I said, she would never run off without Eren. And he was kept in the cell under HQ as well. That couldn't be true. And how long has she been gone if she actually did run off and abandoned Eren?" Reiner shrugged.

"hell if I know." Levi replied.

"Why don't you talk to that one tall blonde guy? He knows everything more than I do. I literally wasted time telling you all this when you can get this kind of info from commander blondie." Reiner yawned.

"Erwin?" 

"No, your mom- Of course, Erwin. Who else?" Reiner sounded a bit annoyed.

"Fine, I'll go and talk to him. You- get back to your cell."

"You don't need to tell me, I'm already lookin' forward to going back to my comfortable bed." Reiner lazily waved goodbye before exiting the room.

 

 


	39. Brainless Brat

After a couple days had passed, Eren wanted to read more books in the library to gain more knowledge. You helped him pronounce words and write them. Eren's English was improving little by little. He was able to grasp onto the comprehension of a human lifestyle. He had told you many times that he desired to explore the world outside the walls with you. His learning skills have enhanced and many recruits were gradually accepting him as one of their own. As for Reiner, he was only able to walk outside his cell for a certain minimum of time, so there was a limit. And during his spare time, Reiner would teach Eren how to do mathematics and counting. He was very poor at it, then again, he did not give up on knowledge. His hunger for curiosity was only the beginning. No end would come to it. There were rare times when Eren walked to the library alone. But that no longer happened because he would always find books that would explain human biology. You forbid Eren to read those books, feeling that Eren was a little "too young" to pick up such books. 

 

"There are 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 12 months or 365 days a year..... Right?" Eren asked.

"Yeah, you're right." You nodded.

"Three walls that protect the people: Maria, Sina, and Rose." Eren named them off from memory.

"Yep."

"TItans have no digestive system. They are only active during the day. They eat humans, nothing else." 

"Correct."

"Am I.... Getting smarter?" Eren smiled innocently, shrugging his shoulders up in excitement.

"... Yeah..." You responded.

"I'm like you now! I can understand you more! This is great!" Eren takes your hands, cheering with happiness.

"I'm glad you are, Eren." You laughed shortly after his brief celebration.

Seeing Eren like this made you feel different. It was as if Eren was never a titan from the beginning. Just a normal human being like you. But it was something that didn't bother you. Eren can understand the human language and have knowledge on how to live a human life. Suddenly, your thoughts were withered away when you hear piano music playing outside the library. You paused for a moment to verify that you weren't imagining things. Eren had also stopped as well. You knew that there was a piano found by Hanji when they first cleaned up HQ. As far as you know, no one was at least an amatuer at playing the piano. Never once have you ever heard of good music from the piano. 

"What's that sound, (First)?" Eren asked.

"It's.... It's a piano playing..." You replied, standing up.

"Piano? What's a... Piano?" Eren wondered.

"It's an instrument in which people play to make music." You responded, your eyes never leaving the exit of the library room.

 

_Who's playing it?_

 

"Must be Moblit or someone. We should continue, Eren. Let's not get sidetracked." You sighed.

"Yes!" Eren nodded as he began skimming through pages.

Yet, the music was growing louder and louder, creating crescendo throughout the hallways outside the library. And hell yes, it was annoying the crap out of you. You were practically losing focus. Eren never noticed, but he was also losing focus on reading and paid attention to the slow tempo of the rhythm. You were losing patience by the minute. And out of nowhere, the piano began to roar, random notes created an unpleasant sound, as if an unprofessional or a beginner was playing the piano freestyle. Your eyebrow twitched, causing you to close your book and stand from your chair.

"Someone's messing with that old piano...." You thought.

"Eren, you stay here and study the book. I'm going to the piano room to check." You told him.

"Can't I come with you?" Eren held onto your wrist to stop you from leaving him.

"I'll be gone just a sec. It won't take long. I'm just going to tell them to tone it down a bit." You smiled warmly at Eren to make sure he doesn't worry about you like he always does.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

As soon as you arrived at the front door of the piano room, you raised your fist to knock, yet you were having second thoughts about that and decided to kick the door open instead.

"HEY YOU--" Once you entered the room, no one was present.

You searched the room, feeling a bit embarrassed that no one was here.

"Huh.... Who was playing this old thing?" You walked up the the dusted instrument, randomly tapping the keys that could barely make a good rhythm. Heck, you tried to play "Mary had a little lamb" but it didn't sound right because of the tune. 

_Who's able to play such beautiful music with this thing when it's not even tuned correctly?_

"Funny finding you here."

You swiftly turned around with a gasp. It was the last person you wanted to see. The person you didn't want to be in a single room with.

"Corporal, you scared the heck out of me. Where'd you come from?" You hovered your palm over your chest to feel the rapid beating of your racing heart from the fright he had given you. He gave you no answer to your question, leaving the sense of awkwardness weighing on you.

He stood by the doorway, staring at you. You blinked a couple times before removing a few strands of hair from your face.

"W-Was it you who played this?" You tried to avoid eye contact with the man.

"Yeah." He answered.

"Well, I gotta give it to ya, you played pretty good music with this old piece of instrument. Haha, I didn't know that you played." You laughed nervously.

"Yeah..." 

A moment of awkward silence fills the room.

"So... I was wondering if you could play a little quiet because Eren and I are trying to read in the library---"

"Do you have a moment to spare?" Levi shoved his hands in his pockets before taking small steps towards you.

"What?"  You took a couple steps back to avoid him.

"I was wondering... If you would dance with me." Levi takes out one hand for you to take.

 

You felt as if your heart would stop. You were beginning to sweat, your cheeks were burning and your body was trembling.

"Earlier, I asked Hanji to dance with me. I swear, that woman has two left feet." The corner of his lips were tugged to one side.

"Uh, didn't I tell you before? I was in the middle of reading in the library and I merely came here to ask you to tone it down a bit." You tried to explain this to him in the nicest way possible.

"One dance wouldn't hurt... Would it?" Levi's arm was still stretched out to you, floating in the air, waiting for you to take it.

"I told Eren that I would get right back to him. Please excuse me--" You tried to walk past him, yet his hand was placed on your waist to stop you.

"Is there something wrong?" Levi asks in a casual manner.

"What? No, of course not." You let out a small laugh while you pushed him away softly.

Once you were freed, you tried to walk away again, yet you were stopped when his cold fingers were wrapped around your wrist.

"Are you afraid?" Levi asked.

"Me? Afraid? Don't be ridiculous, Corporal." You shook your head in denial.

"Well then. Let's dance." In one step, Levi takes your waist with one arm, your hand in his. 

"What the-- I can't dance!" You tried to tell him as he took the lead. There were a couple times when you stumbled. It was difficult to follow him.

"It's alright." Levi's voice became softer and quieter, his eyes never leaving yours.

"There's no music--"

"No need."

"Please, stop..." You turned away to avoid his eye contact.

You realized that his fingers were squeezing your hand in a firm way, yet your fingers were still loosened.

His lips soon crept close beside your ear. You could feel his warm breath.

"Why..." He whispered as you closed your eyes, feeling goosebumps on your arms and legs.

 

_"Why did you burn them?"_

 

You knew exactly what he was talking about, yet you still wanted to act dumb.

"What're you talking about? The bread?" You spoke in a normal tone, avoiding your stutter.

"The photos of you.... They were kept in my personal belongings...." He silently spoke.

"What? Are you okay, Corporal?" You attempted to pull away yet he kept you locked.

 

"You really are a brainless brat..."

 

"Brainless? Me? I'm smarter than I look, y'know." You responded.

"I want to ask you something." Levi requested.

You felt as if you were going to lose it. In response, you gulped and listened to his next words.

 

**_"It's okay... To fall in love again, right (First)?"_ **

 

 


	40. Questions and Answers

"Erwin Smith, is that right?" Levi questioned the blonde man while sitting on a chair.

"Yes, what is it?" Erwin grinned while he held a pen in one hand and the other supporting his chin.

"You know a lot of things about me, yeah?" 

"What's that supposed to mean? Be a little specific." Erwin's eyes met the dark-haired man, crossing his arms.

"I was hoping maybe you could help me regain my memories. Could you do that for me?" Levi requested.

"I'll do my best." Erwin shrugged.

"Alright. I'll just ask you questions if that's alright with you."

"Yeah, sure." 

 

"What's my purpose of joining the Survey Corps?"

"Ah, Hanji told you already that you used to live underground as a thug, right?"

"Hm." Levi nods.

"I was the one who told you to decide. Whether you want to join us or go to the military police to charge you for your crimes."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah."

"How long has it been since the day I joined?" 

"Hmm, almost about six or seven years. You've been here for a while." Erwin answered.

"And what about my squad members?" Levi asks.

"Well, you hand-picked the best soldiers to be assigned in your squad. You lost a couple men but luckily, not all of them are gone."

"Do you know who's still alive within my squad?"

"Hmm... Well, there's Pierre Walters, Gerht Grevvingheim, aaand... (First) (Last)."

"(First)?" Levi blinked a few times at his reply.

"mmhm." The Blonde nods.

"She was in my squad?"

"Was? She's still in your squad." Erwin chuckled.

"Speaking of her, what was my relationship with that girl?"

"Oh, well... She seems to be very close with you back then. She really looks up to you. I believe she once told me that you serve as a great example of a hero, hahahaha even though I wasn't allowed to tell you that-- Anyway, she has great respect towards you."

"really? Then what about Hanji? Why would (First) run away without telling Hanji? Was it because she hated her or something?" Levi pondered.

"What? When has she ever run away? I think she was just running some errands, Levi. And what does she have to do with Hanji?"

"Hanji says that they are related. Cousins." Levi responded.

"They're cousins? I didn't know that.... Wow..." Erwin rubbed his chin at the thought.

"You just knew that? How long have you known Hanji and (First)?"

"I've known Hanji for a long time. But I didn't know that she would have a relative joining us. Huh, I didn't know that." Erwin dropped his pen, feeling his warm forehead for he was experiencing a slight headache.

"Levi."

"What?"

"I believe that you can reconcile with her again. She can most definitely help you along the way. You can ask her. I'm positive that things will work out in the end." Erwin spoke.

Levi was a bit surprised how Erwin encouraged him to know you. It was as if he was eager to help put things together again but you know that it'll only make things fall apart.

"But, isn't she with that titan kid?" Levi quirked an eyebrow.

"Huh? Oh, Eren? Yeah. She's been helping him. Poor boy doesn't remember anything about being human. He's progressing though. With his titan shifting ability, we can probably take one huge step closer to resolution. For now, he's learning about how our community works."

"Oh..."

"It was (First)'s idea of taking him in after finding him outside of the walls. Ingenious, am I right?" Erwin smiled innocently.

"Yeah..." Levi turned away, fiddling with his fingers.

"What's on your mind?" Erwin asked.

"Nothing... I'll be leaving you alone now. Sorry to bother." Levi waves goodbye, exiting from the blonde's office.

 

Levi walked through the hallways, staring into his hand, replaying Erwin's answers over and over in his mind. 

 

_Now that all of my questions have been answered, I must confront her._

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

**Extra--(During the scene)**

**Erwin: Well, you hand-picked the best soldiers to be assigned in your squad. You lost a couple men but luckily, not all of them are gone.**

**Levi: Do you know who's still alive within my squad?**

**Erwin: Hmm... Well, there's Pierre Walters, Gerht Grevvingheim, aaand...**

****Author: Hoe, don't do it.** **

****Erwin: (First) (Last).** **

****Author: Oh my gawd.** **

 

*Blame the commander*~

 


	41. Panic

The pupils of your eyes shrunk, your eye widened with great fear, your face heated up. You were slightly shaking under his hold. Your jaw couldn't stop trembling.

 

He....

He knew....

But how...?

 

You felt a cold palm resting on your burning cheek. Your vision went blank, thoughts running in your head.

 

Where did I go wrong? 

He shouldn't be able to...

But...

How?

 

The smell of tea floated through your nostrils.  Small whispers that sounded foreign to you were growing louder.

 

He knows...!

He knows....!

 

A pair of lips were in your view. They came close to yours, just centimeters away.

 

**HE REMEMBERED!!!**

 

 

 

You shoved him away from you, creating a safe distance in between. You panted for air, your heartbeat constantly banging against your chest from the inside out. You looked at him with a terrified expression on your red face. Your hands were clenched into fists.

"Stay away from me!" You shouted as you leaned against the wall.

Levi, now confused, refused to obey you but took baby steps towards you with a hand reaching out for you.

"EREN!!! HELP ME!!" You let out a scream, covering your ears and closing your eyes tight, seeing nothing but darkness.

"EREN!!!" You shrieked louder than the last. 

Tears were formed from the corner of your eyes. You were afraid of Levi's strange actions. You didn't want him near you. You didn't have an option to get away from him. He had you cornered.

Within a second, you hear footsteps rapidly tapping on the floor, growing louder each time. Suddenly, your shoulders began to relax.

"(First)?!" Eren called out, entering the room to see your crying form curling into a ball.

He then turns to Levi who had no intention of doing anything. Eren glared at the man.

"Why you--!" With no regrets, Eren threw a fist into Levi's face.

Eren knelt, constantly punching Levi's face, knowing that the man will be left with nothing but sore bruises and maybe a loose tooth.

"What did you do to her!? Why did you make her cry!??? I'll... Kill you before you can open your eyes again!!!" Eren didn't stop. He kept going and going.

You could hear Eren's screams. The room was reeked of blood. Your eyelids rose up to see Eren beating up the target. The threat.

But... Levi did not plea for mercy nor help. He allowed Eren to do whatever pleased him.

_He's... Not fighting back?_

"You worthless garbage! You piece of shit! You fucking dog!!" 

You stood up and froze to see something that was unusual.

Eren was crying.

"DIE!!" 

Before Eren could land another punch, you grabbed his wrist and guarded Levi against him.

"Eren! Please, no more!" You begged while the small tears trailed down your red cheeks.

"(F-First)!" Eren cried as he immediately obeyed.

You forced Eren to release his grasp on the beaten man's shirt that was now drenched in red.

"Leave him be." You softened your tone as you caressed his cheek.

"(First)..." Eren looked down at his hands.

"I'm..." Eren wipes his tears away with his bloodied hands, painting his own face with the crimson color.

Levi was wheezing in the background, coughing and panting. He was glad that he didn't die, but he was also disappointed.

"I'm sorry." Eren apologized to you.

"Eren...." You wrapped your arms around his neck as he buried his nose in your neck, silently sobbing. 

He did not return your embrace, for he refused to touch you with Levi's blood.

After you've successfully calmed the boy down, you turned to Levi.

He opened one eye, and then he closed it.

"Levi...?" You were still afraid of him even though he clearly surrendered.

He did not respond. He only took short breaths.

"We have to take him to Hanji..." You commented before wiping the blood off his handsome face. Surprisingly, he only had a few bruises but there was no sign of swelling.

"Eren..." You called out as you knelt beside Levi's head.

 

_"Who taught you to say bad words?"_


	42. Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mnb;k

"Levi!? Can you hear me?!" Hanji called out to the beaten man who seemed as if he was sleeping peacefully in a coffin.

"Jeez what the hell happened this time?!?" Hanji demanded answers from you and Eren while Levi was resting on a bed in the infirmary.

"Uh...." You nervously turned away, fiddling with your fingers while Eren turned to you with the same feelings.

"Eren! why is your face covered in blood!? Did you attack Levi!?" Hanji sounded desperate, almost enraged.

"Yes!" Eren bowed to Hanji, shutting his eyes tight, waiting for you to punish him for what he had done.

"P-Please! Give me discipline (First)!" Eren shouted.

You and Hanji both watched him with confusion.

"What?" You raised a brow, backing away from the young boy.

"I deserve to be punished by you!"

"F-For what?"

"For saying bad words to Levi!" Eren gulped, frozen in his bowing position, waiting.

"HO NO EREN! YOU DO NOT DESERVE TO BE PUNISHED BY (FIRST)!!" Hanji intruded.

"Huh? W-Why?" Eren looked up to see Hanji. He could've swore he saw a tint of flame within her eye behind those glasses.

"YOU DESERVE TO BE PUNISHED BY ME!" She roared.

"Now tell me what happened or else (First) will not be sharing the cell with you anymore, Eren! Explain yourself! Have you lost control?!" Hanji berated.

"I-I...." Eren was speechless. 

Noticing this, you decided to fill him in.

"It was clearly my fault, Hanji. I called out for Eren to help me and he did."

"That's it?? Is there something else I'm missin' here?" Hanji rested her hands on her hips.

"Levi remembered everything that happened! He remembered everything!!"

"What?" Hanji blinked several times.

".... W-We were dancing a-and... He asked me why I burned the documents and photos from his box... A-And then he asked me...."

Your words suddenly trailed off. It was as if you were confessing all of your sins to a God but you couldn't.

"Asked you what?" Hanji brought you back to the real world.

"He asked me if it's okay to fall in love again." You spoke with a trembling voice.

Hanji's eyes finally softened. She gazed upon the broken man who was peacefully asleep, the blood constantly flowing from his nose.

"Ah... I see... Then that's when you called Eren for help, is that right?" Hanji gave Eren a look of sympathy.

"Uh, y-yes!" Eren nodded.

Hanji sighed for a moment and sat beside Levi, wiping his nose with her bare hand.

"You went to see Erwin, did you, Levi...?" Hanji frowned as she lowered her head in shame.

".... Uh, Hanji?" You spoke.

"You're free. I will tend his injuries. And Eren-"

"Yes?" Eren responded immediately.

"Go and... Wash off all that blood from your face." Hanji half-smiled.

"Eh? But.. What about my punishment?" Eren points at his chest, staring down nervously.

"Nevermind that. You were being honest with me so... I'll let this slide." Hanji's smile faded as she went back to helping Levi.

Feeling paralyzed by such words, Eren stuttered, "Th-thank you very much Ms. Zoe! I am very grateful! Thank you!" 

It made him feel as if he was no longer a titan, nothing but a normal civilized human being. And that's what he truly desired.

"Eren, let's go. I feel a little nauseous from the smell of blood." You commented as you walked your way out the door while Eren followed you.

 

 

As soon as you reached the bathroom, You wet a cloth from the sink and gently wiped Eren's face. He closed his eyes and resisted your touch, enjoying it. He felt relaxed when your hand comes in contact with his skin. The corners of his lips tugged a smile.

"That kinda tickles, (First)." He scrunched his face together and shrugged his shoulders.

"I just don't want your face to turn red afterwards if I roughly wipe it off." You replied.

"Hmm." Once again, he relaxed under your touch. 

After a couple minutes, his face was no longer covered in blood. You rubbed his cheek with one thumb, in case there was some spots that you missed. His nose followed your fingers, his lips kissing the tips of it. His eyes were still closed. You flinched when he grasped onto your wrist to kiss your palm.

"(First)... Do you hate me?" Eren opened his green orbs, half-lidded, looking at your fragile fingers.

"No." You responded.

"..... Are you... Lying to me?" Eren's hold on your wrist began to tighten.

"Why would you think that, Eren?" 

"Because I... I nearly killed Levi. If you hadn't stopped me, I... I would've finished the job--"

"Don't say that." You grabbed his face with both of your hands, forcing his eyes to meet yours.

"You did it to protect me and you saved me just in time. I just... didn't know what his intentions were." You sighed.

"I will never turn against you Eren. I want to be with you. I would never do anything to hurt you. So don't you worry, alright?" You said in an optimistic voice yet your face was calm with a warm smile.

Eren's face lit up. Within a blink of an eye, he wrapped his strong arms around your tiny waist and pulled you in for a big hug.

"I so happy that you're not mad at me. I'm very happy. I... I feel like the luckiest boy in the whole world...!" Eren hooked his chin on your shoulder blade, causing you to wince.

"I'm glad to hear that, Eren." You grunted as you hopelessly patted his back.

"So uh... Where did you pick up those bad words back there?" You groaned.

Eren's eyes widened. His smile quickly turned upside down. He loosened his arms and pulled away.

"It's 'cuz.... Well... I don't want to say--"

"Did you pick them up from Reiner?" You rested a hand on his arm.

"N-No... I just.... I remembered them from a long time ago. That's all. I-I must've... learned them from someone else. But I promise I won't say them again. I will never curse again. I'm sorry." Eren bowed.

"Well, that's good." You patted his head.

"I'm sorry for worrying you all the time."

"No, you're fine, Eren. You needn't worry." 

"Eren." He spoke.

"Hm?"

"Eren. I.. I really like that name." He stated.

"I am... very fortunate for having that name. Because you gave it to me." 

The bond between the two of you strengthened each day. You were closer to him than you were to Levi.

You couldn't help but grin. You held his hand and caressed it like a little stray animal.

"you will live a good life with that name, Eren. You are no longer seven, a number, or a test subject. You are Eren."

 

_Yes._


	43. Personal Thoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter here... More like an extra.

After a couple hours have passed, Eren was ordered to go back into his cell while Hanji had summoned you to the infirmary room for personal reasons. You felt nervous as to why Hanji would want you to accompany Levi. You insisted on having Eren stay while you left. 

"Besides, I don't think Levi can move in that condition so I'll be fine."

Those were your last words before you left him alone in the cell.... With Reiner who recently moved in as a next door neighbor rather than four cells down the hall. Eren lay on his bed, thinking about you. He looked at his palm, the one that you touched while saying his name. He decided that he will cherish you, and keep you forever since the day you met him. You were very special to him.

 

"Ahh, so you taught that bastard a lesson, huh?" Reiner spoke behind the wall between them.

Eren sat up, criss-crossed on his bed.

"Mmh." Eren nodded hesitantly since he didn't like how Reiner worded it.

"Well, he got what he deserved, right?" 

"Mmh."

"Why are you so quiet?" Reiner asked. Eren could hear him shuffle on his bed.

"Oh, I get it. Is it because (First) left you?" Eren could picture Reiner smirk from behind the wall.

Eren gave no gesture but a simple "Hm."

I'll take that as a yes." Reiner responded.

There was silence within the cells. Nothing.

"Sheesh, you're not as talkative as usual." Reiner commented.

"Hm." Eren replied.

"Lemme ask you an obvious question..." Reiner sighed.

"Do you like (First)?" Reiner asked.

"Yes." Eren answered.

"So why haven't you made a move on her yet?" Reiner asks.

"What?" Eren did not understand his question, assuming it was "slang" he was using.

"What did you say?" Eren tilted his head.

"Y'know, have you kissed her? Or anything like that?" 

"U-Uhm..." Eren played with his fingers, unable to answer right away.

"You never tried?--"

"I-It's not like that! I-I tried! B-But the thing is... I was terrible at doing it, and it scared her..!" Eren responded.

"Doing what?" Reiner replied.

"U-Um... Touching her. And kissing her...!" Eren's face became beet red. Even though he couldn't see Reiner, he still closed his eyes.

"You touched her without permission? Is that what you're trying to say?--"

"No! S-She did let me touch her so--"

 

_Why does this sound so wrong?_

 

"She let you touch her so what?"

"S-So... I uh..."

"yeah, go on."

"I.... I-I....... I tried to mate with her!!" Eren confessed loudly.

Reiner had nothing to say. He was completely shocked that Eren had attempted this.

"I read a little bit of Human biology before (First) took it away from me!" Eren stated.

"Oh...." Reiner replied, his face still in shock.

"So... T-There you have it! I tried! I tried to make a move on her!" Eren said with little confidence.

"Hm." Reiner hummed.

Eren panted, feeling embarrassed for sharing his personal feelings with Reiner. A couple minutes passed and nothing was heard from Reiner.

"Reiner? you still there?" Eren called out.

"Mmh." Reiner lays down on his bed, lacing his fingers together on his chest, his face still written with shock.

"Please don't tell (First)..." Eren covered his face and lowered his head.

"Mmh." The blonde replied.

"..... Reiner, why are you so quiet?"

 

 

 


	44. Rekindle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the late update. I had the MCA's and then there's the AP Exams I had to take too. It's been a bit stressful but now that all of those are out of the way, I'll try to update at least once a week, or maybe twice. School is almost coming to an end so that's good too. I might make another story. Hahah I never finish my stories... Ehhhh. It's like a neverending cycle 'cuz there's still many more within this story haha. Still got a long way to go so we're not really close to the end yet. But I'd like to thank you all for reading this! I'm really happy that you guys like it! Love you all~ ^o^

"You're horrible at lying." Levi mumbled with his eyes closed in relaxation.

"Hah? I can't hear you Levi." Hanji gently wiped a cloth against his cheek, sitting beside him on the bed.

"Fuck you." Levi scoffed and pinched the woman's stomach, causing her to back away from him.

"Ow." She hissed, rubbing the area.

Hanji can understand how angry he must feel behind his calm expression. 

"Sorry." Hanji laughed nervously.

"It's been awhile. I'm surprised you got your memories back, Levi." She commented, tracing the faint blood painting his cheek area.

"Not all of it..."

"Hm?"

"I'm still missing something." Levi replied with a weak voice.

"Because of the shitty lies that you've been telling me, I don't even know what's real anymore." 

"I..... It's best not to know, Levi." Hanji sighed.

"Why not?" 

"Because It's just---"

 

Hanji was interrupted by the sound of the creaking door. There it opened, revealing you, creeping from behind.

"Oi, you there." Levi opened one eye to see your shy form, as if you were a lost young child.

"Come here." He gave you a welcoming gesture as you hesitantly obeyed.

"Shut the door." He told you afterwards when you stepped right in.

You were unable to determine his mood. Was he angry? Is he alright?

Once you shut the door, you turned around to approach him in a slug-like speed.

"Don't be so shy, you idiot. Get over here." He sighed, almost as if he was disappointed in you.

 

Levi slowly sat up, holding out his palm towards Hanji, refusing any help from her for support. 

"I got it." He murmured.

Hanji lowered her arms, resting her hands on her lap as she stood up to give you two some space.

"C'mere. I wanna talk to you." Levi gives you an icy cold stare as you looked at Hanji, avoiding his eyes.

"I'm right here, you--" He scoffed, seeing that it was a bit difficult for you to follow his directions.

"Look, I'm not going to hurt you." Feeling he will lose patience any moment, you took baby steps to get to him.

"Here." Levi opens one arm to invite you in his embrace as you hesitantly accepted. His arm was wrapped around your waist as your arms were hanging by your sides.

"I am... Sorry for giving you a panic attack. I knew it was wrong. I was aware of it."

You stayed quiet and listened to his words of apologies. He pulled your arm so his hot breath could reach your ear.

"Just so we're clear on this, I would never intend to hurt any of my subordinates. You're no different from the rest." He whispered.

"You got that?" He pulled away, speaking in a normal tone as you nodded.

"If you want to make things even, I'm willing to accept some kind of punishment from you."

"C-Corporal, I--"

"Name it." He wore a stoic face, ready to listen to you.

"..." You shook your head and sat beside him.

"You're.... Back to your old self?" You asked.

"Of course. I won't go back to that side again."

"..... Promise?" You played with your fingers, looking down at them.

"Yeah." Levi nodded as he hovers one hand over yours.

"But that doesn't mean you get special treatment, you brat. Like I said, you're no different from the rest." He pats on your shoulder while you silently laughed with a smile on your face. It was proof that he wasn't lying. It was proof that he wasn't the person he once was. It was proof that he was the corporal that you knew so well.

"I understand."

"Good. You may be excused." Levi rustled your hair as you stood up and left the room without saying goodbye.

 

Levi leans back to rest again as Hanji came close to him, watching his eyes close again.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?" Hanji wondered as she peeled the bandages to heal him.

"What?" Levi answered in a soft voice.

"Do you.... Still have feelings for that girl?" She asked.

".... Why do you want to know?" Levi indirectly replied.

"I'm .... Just curious..." Hanji shrugged.


	45. Eren

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And yet, another short chapter... I need to stop updating during the nighttime, I get super drowsy. EYY SCHOOL'S OUT. IM DONE. (Hooray)

You approached the cell area, casually walking down the hallway with a smile on your face. Once you made a stop to Eren's cell, the boy stood up from his bed, rushing his way towards you, yet his chained wrists caught him.

"(First)!" Eren exclaimed.

"I'm back." You announced as you entered and sat on your bed across from Eren.

"What happened? DId he do anything to you? Are you hurt? Did he touch you??" Eren asked multiple questions, you didn't know where to start.

"No, nothing bad happened." You wore your happy expression, causing Eren's heart to beat in a normal pace again.

"Ah, I'm happy about that." Eren sighed in relief, sitting up on his bed.

He noticed you were playing with your hands with that wide smile, causing him to wonder with curiosity. 

"What's so funny?" Eren tilted his head, peeking at your face from afar.

"Huh?" You looked up to see him.

"You're so... Smiley today." Eren laughed.

"What's with the cute face? Can you tell me?" He requested.

 

Feeling that you have nothing to hide, you answered his question without hesitation.

"Levi's back." You clasped your hands together.

"What?" Eren's smile began to dissipate as you continued to explain it to him.

"He's going to be alright again. I'm so glad that things will go back to the way they were. I don't have to be afraid of staying by his side as a subordinate anymore. This is great!" You clenched your fists and shrugged your shoulders up in brief excitement.

"But---"

"He's going to be normal and he's going back to his sassy attitude and--"

"(Name), wait---"

"He's going to be Levi again!~"

"(Name)!!" Eren shouted, catching your attention.

 

Eren isn't an expert at hiding his true feelings towards you. He often shares his thoughts, speaking them.

 

In embarrassment, the boy hid his face with his palms apologized to you immediately.

"I-I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I-I didn't really mean to stop you!" He spoke.

"Oh, It's alright, Eren--"

"No! I-It's not alright! I'm not okay!" Eren began to feel slight anger and frustration.

"... Why are you sad? What's the matter?" You jumped off your bed and walked towards the titan boy.

He did not respond, still refusing to show himself.

"Eren, are you crying?" You tried to pry his hands from his face. He frowned and wore a painful expression.

"Why are you so happy about that?" Eren stares at you, his eyes wanting to know everything from yours.

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you happy for him? What did he do to you?" He asked.

"Eren, I'm just saying that Levi isn't going to be the twisted man he once was--"

"But, after everything he's done to you. Why do you want to be with him?? Are you... Going to be his roommate now??" Eren questions you with concern, holding your wrists in a firm grip.

You threw your head back, laughing at his worriedness. 

"No, silly. I'm still going to be here." You giggled.

Eren sighed and embraced you.

"I hate it when you talk about him." Eren mumbled in your cotton shirt.

"... Why is that?"

"Because I'm scared that you'll stop liking me." 

"Psh, that won't happen." You stroked his head, tangling your slender fingers in his soft bed of hair.

"(Name), don't go near him. He's dangerous." Eren pulls away, holding your hand tightly.

"Eren, trust me, everything is going to be alright."

"No, please don't. Don't talk to him...." At this point, Eren pulled your arms and into his grasp.

"..... Eren, he's normal again." You attempted to convince him again.

"No.... Please...." He silently begged.

"He doesn't deserve your happiness... He took everything away from you.." He spoke in a stubborn way. 

"He... He tried to kill me." Eren mumbled.

 

"Eren..."

"Stay here with me. You won't see him anymore." He smiled softly, caressing your hair.

 

 

 

 

 

**(CHOICE TIME)------------------------------------------------------------------**

 

OKAY! THIS IS YOUR DECISION, READER. YOU'VE MADE IT THIS FAR, AND THINGS WILL GET COMPLICATED. YOU HAVE TWO CHOICES TO SELECT. YOU CAN ONLY CHOOSE ONE. BUT I SHALL WARN YOU BEFOREHAND, THERE WILL BE A DOWNFALL OR CONFLICT NO MATTER WHAT CHOICE YOU MAKE SO THERE REALLY IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG ANSWER. YOU ARE SRSLY DECIDING. 

 

Should you listen to Eren after you've reunited with Lance corporal Levi? 

 

1) Yes.

 

2) No.

 

 

Please let me know on the comments down below and share your answers. You don't have to offer an explanation. BUT I do want to say: Choose the choice with no ragrets. 

Good luck.

 

 


	46. Voices in His Head

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, many people said yes, so let's go!~

You made the decision to trust Eren more than yourself. Keeping your distance from Levi should put you into a safe zone, or maybe even Levi himself. You hugged Eren, and nodded.

"If that's what you want, then I won't go near him anymore. I trust you, Eren." You stated.

Surely, you felt a little hurt that you won't go back to those days anymore. You won't be so close to him. But it's for the best. Eren pulled away and planted a moist kiss on the corner of your lips.

"I'm happy to hear that." He says as he grabbed your chin, forcing you to make eye contact with him.

He gave you a comforting smile as did you. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------

 

"Hold still--" 

"Stop touching me. I'm fine." Levi slaps Hanji's hands away from him as he stood up.

"Hmph! I'm glad Eren gave you a good beating." Hanji crossed her arms and pouted, turning away from him, yet he didn't care.

"You haven't answered my question." Hanji pointed out.

"Hn?" Levi refused to look at her as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"My question." She reminded him.

"........." Levi sighed, feeling one of his eyes that was patched up with a white cloth.

"Levi?" Hanji called out.

"It's none of your business whether I still like her or not. Besides, what difference does it make?" Levi claimed.

"...... You're... In love with her, aren't you?" Hanji concluded.

"I...." Levi couldn't say it no more. Hanji was right...

 

"You know those nightmares I've been experiencing?" Levi asks.

"Yeah?"

"I always thought it was so sickening... But for some reason, it gave me satisfaction, pleasure that filled me up. I... I enjoyed it." Levi looked down in shame.

"I wanted to believe that those dreams don't define who I am... But the more I think about it, the more I began to doubt.... Just one look at her face can make me go crazy. I just... Want it all."  He looked at his hand, frowning.

 

"Levi?"

 

_Why does she have to exist? Why does she have to appear before me? Even though I love her so much, I can't bear the fact that she's afraid of my affections for her. That's just how I express love. Is it so wrong to do that? I can't control myself.... I need help... I want her. But she doesn't want me...._

 

"Levi." Hanji repeated.

"What?" 

"You were spacing out. Are you alright?" Hanji slowly approached to him, making sure to catch him if he feels fatigue.

"It hurts so much..." He murmured as he clenched onto his shirt, where his heart is located, and clawed it.

"Are you okay?" Hanji taps on his shoulder.

"Just leave me alone.... Stay away from me...."

"Why is that?"

"You wouldn't understand." Levi says as he exits the room, leaving Hanji alone.

 

_No one would...._

 

He admitted it. Those disturbing memories weren't nightmares. To him, they were dreams. And he despised himself for liking it. He wanted to deny that he was truly happy when you squirmed under him. He wanted to become dominant. He wanted everything of you. Yet, he paid the price. Eren came and took you away from him.

 

Yes... That titan shifter....

 

Levi's dark emotions were slowly coming back. But this time, he decided to swallow up his desired words to say to you and continue on forward. But if there is ever a time you made eye contact with him again, he will surely lose himself in a state of mind, mentally.

 

_I really want to touch her again... I want to hold her._

 

 

_But I can't....._

 

 

 

He held his wrist tightly, feeling deep pain and regret of ever knowing her... You.... He refuses to let you go. There's no one for him but you. He will never get a second opportunity or a chance if he ever loses you. 

 

_No, I can't.... I don't want her to leave me...._

 

 

Levi was struggling with his memories that were triggered by the dreams. He was beginning to piece things together, one by one. 

 

_Who will stand by me?_

 

_I don't love anyone as much as her. She's the only one for me. I don't want anyone to have her. Why does she hate me so? Why does my chest burn? Am I experiencing the symptoms again? Amnesia?....._

 

He was completely frustrated with his current situation. He loved you too much, he couldn't bear to lose you..... 

Yeah... They're coming back.... Very slowly.....

 

 

 

 

 

 


	47. Many Attempts

The next morning, you stood outside and fed some horses with apples that you found in the kitchen. Eren was still asleep in his cell so you didn't want to bother him. The air felt cool on your skin and the wind blew your face. You were in a good mood today. You happily hummed to yourself while feeding a horse.

 

"You look like you're enjoying yourself." 

 

You sighed and took a deep breath, ready to engage a conversation with the man you weren't supposed to come in contact with. 

"Good day, Corporal." You spoke without looking at his figure that stood behind you. His voice wasn't far away and it wasn't close either.

"Good morning." He took a couple steps forward as you gave some space between man and horse.

"You're pretty good with horses." Levi commented as he raised one hand for the horse to lick.

"Ah, yeah... Uhm so... How are your injuries?" You shyly spoke, taking a couple more baby steps back.

"I'm fine, don't worry." He answered.

"Oh.... That's good..." You cleared your throat, removing a strand of hair from your face due to the soft howling wind.

"Y'know, I'm gonna go and check on Eren. I'll see you." You bid him a brief farewell before walking off.

 

"So do you want to stroll around town with me today?" He asks you in a tired voice, causing you to stop halfway.

"Ah, no thank you sir." You continued on forward.

"...... If I ordered you, would you do it as a soldier?" He spoke.

".... Corporal please, I have.... More important things to focus on." You nodded, never looking back as you walked away from the scene.

His eyes followed your every movement with a hint of sadness. He knew that he had already lost against Eren yet he found himself still trying to get your attention. 

\------------------------------------------------

 

Later that same day, Levi attempted to approach you once more when you were alone again. You were washing the dirty cloths that has been used for cleaning. Your sleeves were rolled up and your hair was tied up in a bun. As he came close to you, he had stopped to think of how to approach you. A part of him wanted to scare you in a teasing way but he decided it was not the best option to do. He simply started out with a light tap on your shoulder, causing you to turn around. His shadow hovered over you as you watched with slight caution.

"Oh, i-it's you again...." You stuttered, continuing your duty.

"Do you need any help?" He knelt down with you, watching your hands scrub the dirt off the cloth in the bubbly tub.

"No thanks. I can do this alone." You responded.

A short pause came in. Levi had to admit it, he was dying out there. He didn't know how to make a good impression. No words would come from his mouth, no ideas ran through his head. He was merely a pile of mess with no plan of action whatsoever. 

 

"Are you just going to sit there and.... Watch me, sir?" You hesitantly spoke which caused him to snap out of his own mind. 

"Hm?" His eyes were now focused on you.

"Isn't there... Anything important that you have to do right now?" You asked.

"Ah no. That's... Why I'm here." Levi explained.

"Okay then...." You awkwardly replied.

For the time being, he stayed with you, as quiet as ever, never looking away from you. He studied your facial features and your hand motions. He couldn't help but smile softly. Unfortunately, you didn't notice his smile because you were so worried about him. You focused on your chores without giving him any eye contact. You knew that he was staring at you but you decided not to notice. Eren's warning was repeating inside your mind over and over. You had to keep calm.

As soon as you finished washing the cloths, you drained the water from them and put them in a basket. Levi had taken the tub of water and helped you dump it somewhere far enough from HQ.

"Thank you for your help, sir." You quickly bowed, rushing to get your things and hopefully avoid his appearance before he catches you.

"(First), please wait." Levi called out to you. 

You closed your eyes, feeling a bit irritated. But once you turned around to face Corporal Levi, you wore a fake smile.

"Yes?"

"Can you come here?" Levi commanded.

You searched left and right to see that the two of you were alone together. 

Shit.

"... For what?" You asked.

"I uh..... I hope that uhm..." Levi was losing himself, just seeing you standing there looking pretty right in front of him.

"... I'm sorry, what?" You refused to move from your spot. Not a step closer to him.

"I hope that...." Levi looked away, struggling to find words for his mouth.

"You what?" 

 "I hope you washed them well." He wanted to strangle himself for saying that.

You let out an awkward laugh and nodded.

"Yeah... I'll see you inside." You turned on your heels and walked straight into the building while Levi watched you until his eyes couldn't see your form anymore. He silently cursed himself and kicked the grass, walking off in a different direction. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------

At nighttime, you lit up a couple candles in the cafeteria. Since everyone went to sleep, you stayed up, reading Hanji's daily reports about Eren's behavior. She nearly wrote an entire novel of his progression. You knew that Eren was waiting for you in the cell as you quickly skimmed through the words. You felt tired, exhausted. 

"It's getting late, why're you here?" 

 

That voice. You knew who it belonged to and yes, your worries came in again.

"Ah, I was just.... Reading Hanji's reports..." You stared at the pages that you have recently read. 

"May I ask what you are doing up so late, sir?" You questioned him.

"I'm not tired." Levi responded.

"Oh.... Well, I'm gonna go to bed now and---"

"Hold on a sec." He held onto your hand in a firm way before you could stand and leave.

"What is it?" You asked.

"I..........." There it was again. He thought he was prepared to do this but turns out, he really wasn't. He was speechless.

"Goodnight." He said as you nodded politely and removed your hand from his grasp.

"Goodnight." You replied as you walked away with the stack of papers in your hands.

 

_Am I just going to stand here and watch her leave me again?..... No... This is my last chance. I can't wait any longer._

 

  
"Actually no, please stop." Levi calls to you as you paused in your steps.

"I... You can't leave like that cadet." Levi stated, looking into your eyes from a small distance.

"Corporal, are you alright?---"

"That is not the issue right now."  He interrupted.

"I've been trying to reconcile our relationship and mend the bond but... It's not working." Levi sighed.

"Please, sit down. I want to talk to you." He ordered you.

"Sir, with all due respect---"

"(First), please." Levi interfered once more. 

You stayed quiet as he began to talk.

"There's so much I want to say to you. But for some reason, I can't. Not here, not now.... I wish I could go back in time to spend some time with you again, mostly you because...." He stopped for a moment before speaking again.

"Because I hurt you. I caused you a lot of pain. I don't want any of that for my subordinates." 

You looked at him with a pained expression.

"So don't avoid me and let's pretend that everything bad never happened---"

"I can't do that!!" You shouted, hearing you echo the words that were traveling to the ceiling.

Levi was a bit shocked of your sudden burst.

"..... (First)?" 

"I'm sorry sir! But we can never go back to those days anymore! We can never forget everything that happened! No!" You stood up.

"Please forgive me! I really want to go back, I do! But.... I just can't do it!" You can feel small tears forming in your eyes. You tried to hide them but they would only form into bigger tears.

"(First)---"

"I don't want to be involved with you any longer! I don't want to see you anymore! I don't----"

 

You were stopped by a pair of lips pressed against yours. Your heartbeat had quickened its pace, your face was turning red. You were surprised of the kiss. It wasn't rough but soft. His hands held your cheeks on either side, pushing you backward with his mouth. You felt him pucker his lips within the kiss. You were running out of oxygen. Your fists were banging against his chest but he ignored your actions. He wanted you more than life. He wanted everything of you. 

 

As he quickly pulls away, he catches your wrists before you could slap him. 

"Don't be afraid." he says in a caring tone.

You silently panted, worried about waking the others.

".... I am not afraid..." You lied.

 

_"I don't love you.... I love Eren and Eren alone."_

 


	48. The Heart and Mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little short here.....

"I love Eren and Eren only..."

 

Those words were drilled inside of his head. It took him a couple of minutes to process your words, as if he couldn't understand your language. Thinking that he had nothing else to say, you attempted to push him from you but he stood still like a hard solid rock, still latching onto you. 

"Let go." You warned him, no longer feeling fear.

His eyes were fixed onto your figure. He blinked several times after you spoke. You struggled to release his grip on you.

"I said let go...!" Finally, with all your strength, you managed to free yourself, taking a couple steps back.

"Did you not hear me?" Your voice had a hint of anger.

"I heard you... Loud and clear."  He nodded.

"... I'm doing this for the sake of both of us. Please understand, sir." You sighed.

"........."

"Don't ever come near me again. Otherwise, one of us will get hurt in the end, no matter the circumstances. I don't want that." You explained to him before you dismissed yourself, leaving Hanji's report on the table with the heart-aching man.

"Goodnight." You quietly say before you leave him.

 

He slumped on the chair, staring blankly into the report. 

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

As soon as you reached Eren's cell, you quickly rushed to the young titan boy who was sleeping soundly. You couldn't help but kiss him on the forehead and jump on your bed on the opposite side. You covered yourself with sheets, trying not to think about Levi's kiss. It made you feel nervous and uneasy. And for that, you didn't feel tired anymore.

 

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

After a couple of days, Hanji made an announcement that the expedition is coming close and that the entire Corps must prepare for it. The goal was mainly using Eren and Reiner's ability in titan-shifting to gather some more evidence on the titans. Hanji made sure that she sucked out every little information from Reiner before they set on out. In the end, Reiner only kept the identities of the surviving victims from ears. As for Eren, he didn't remember any of them at all. He didn't keep track. 

"Is there possibly a cure for all this mess?" You wondered.

"You think that the old man has a heart for creating a remedy?" Reiner snorted, crossing his buff arms.

"Hey, don't be mean to her." Eren warned the blonde macho man.

"Why can't you tell us about the others, Reiner? What will you lose?" You asked.

"Look, I just...... Well..... We've...." He scratched the nape of his neck and sighed.

"Let's just say that we've done some bad things in the past, alright?"

"How bad?" You wanted to keep on going until he spits out the answers you need.

"Why does that even matter? We were... Stupid... Very stupid." Reiner shook his head.

"If you're trying to ask me like that titan-obsessing chick, I'm not telling. They're probably dead for all we know." Reiner stated.

"Reiner, you want to help us, right?"

"I don't know. I'm just looking for a place to stay, where I don't have to do stupid shit. I want to live like a human being."

You had no argument. You stopped testifying him. Eren wrapped his hand around yours, resting his head on yours.

 

You were one of the few people who knew about the secret plan of the expedition coming up. The plan is to capture the other titan-shifters and hopefully get answers from them. Reiner and Eren didn't know the plan. The only mission they were given is to help guide the entire team to safety and show them their abilities in combat out in the open field beyond the walls.

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

(One week Later....)

 

You rode on a horse and made sure that your gear was strapped onto you tight. Eren came running from behind with his own two feet.

"(First), wait!!" Eren panted as he stopped to catch his breath, standing in front of your horse.

"Eren, where's your horse? We're going to leave in five minutes." You became worried.

"My horse doesn't like me! He's always trying to kick me." Eren answered.

"What?" 

"Can I ride with you? Please??" Eren requested.

With no time to spare, you gave him a quick nod, causing his eyes to gleam with happiness. He had a difficult time getting on your horse, considering the fact that he's never ridden one because all the other horses hate his smell. 

"Hang on tight, you'll fall off, okay?" You tell him.

"Huh? Oh." Feeling delighted, he wraps his strong iron arms around your little waist, hardly giving you oxygen to breathe. 

"Not that tight." You tried to pry his arms from you to loosen up.

"Oh, okay." He did not obey. All he did was tighten his hold on you.

You knew he was doing it on purpose. His head leaned against your back, counting the beats of your heart. 

"1,2,3,4,5,1,2,3,4,5,1,2,3,4--" He silently chanted as he swung his legs back and forth, trying not to kick your feet.

"It's hopeless..." You gave him a bored look.

"Okay! Let's head to the village!!" Hanji shouted as you followed the squad. Sadly, you were put in a different group aside from Levi's. He had a team of foreign people that knew him as the strongest soldier. Not to mention, his new teammates had enough experience to top the professionals. But of course, of all the people, Levi will always be that one serious lookin' guy. As the teams galloped to the village, you felt Eren's chest was pressed against your back more than before. He shrugged his shoulders up, staying locked onto your body, still counting the beats. Noticing this, you scoffed and wore a smile, even though he was killing your lungs.

 

Once you've reached the point to wait for the gates to open at the village, you quickly looked around to see many familiar faces surrounding you. Not many people bid you farewell. Everyone was slowly losing their hopes of witnessing a bright future. But still, you didn't want to give up. You wanted to believe that there is a light at the end of the dark tunnel. You just have to keep moving forward. It's what you wanted for everyone, including yourself.

 

"2,3,4,5,1,2,3,4,5--" Eren counted.

"Eren, are you ready?" You turned your face to one side.

"Mmhm..." Eren nods.

"Welp, here we go." You watched the gates open the path to the outside world.

 

_Hang onto me, Eren. Don't let go.... Yet._

 

 

 

 


	49. Separation and Loss

As you followed your newly assigned squad (Thanks to Hanji), you quickly remembered the formation of the plan. And once you were in the middle of the field, flares began sparking up the sky with a faint color of green. Eren hooked his chin onto one of your shoulder blades to see the sky colored with a single streak of green.

"Wow..." Eren watched in awry.

"It's a good sign. You remember that, right?" You asked.

"Yeah. Red means bad. Black means aberrant."

"Good job." You praised him.

Eren no longer had amnesia. He can remember everything since the day you took him in. He replayed those memories in his mind over and over, cherishing the moments with you. you were glad that Eren had fallen into your hands in the first place. You had to give fate some credit.

"The wind feels nice today." You commented.

Eren couldn't keep his eyes off the clouded bright sky. He was almost distracted by it until you interrupted him.

"It's almost time for you to shift. We're going to encounter a group of titans just up ahead. The formation will be split up. You and I are going to charge through. That's the rendezvous point. We'll meet up with Reiner there. 

"Alright." Eren understood your words.

"Get ready...."

 

As soon as you came close to your destination, you witnessed Reiner from afar, shifting into his monstrous form. That was the signal to have Eren transform as well. Without any orders, Eren jumps off the horse. You began to steer away to join up with the other groups on the sideline. A strike of lightning hits Eren as he shape shifts into a titan. You didn't look back, instead, you continued on forward. Basically, Reiner and Eren were baits to lure the other titan shifters to come. But who knows how this'll turn out? 

When you met Hanji face to face, she commands the other squads to aid the titan allies. You helped exterminate the titans during the brief fight. Soon, more and more kept coming and there was still no sign of a unique titan that looked out of place. Having difficulty fighting with the giants in an open green field, more of your squad members were dying. You were losing men, and you dared not to keep track of whom you will not be seeing tomorrow. You tried your best to help those who were in danger but nonetheless, people were getting eaten from left and right. 

"Dammit! If we keep this up, we'll..." Suddenly you noticed a giant skinless hand grabbing a horde of titans in its palm and sent them flying away from the battlefield. You followed the hand to the arms to the face. You've seen it before. 

"It's the colossal titan! We must capture it!!" You hear Erwin shout. 

As you looked over to Reiner, you can see that he was frozen in shock to see the colossal titan. And honestly, you knew that this wasn't going to end well.

"Reiner!?" You called out. 

Eren was still busy clearing his own personal area while Reiner stood there, motionless, allowing the titans to gobble his solid shield. Strange. 

"Hanji! Reiner's not moving!!" You informed her.

"We can't do anything about it!  Erwin's squad is taking care of the colossal titan! Just keep going!" She tells you.

Somehow, you couldn't listen to her words. You had to do something to Reiner. But suddenly, you noticed a small figure standing on the nape of Eren's neck. You squinted your eyes to see that it was someone unfamiliar, wearing the same uniform, the same gear. You were confused at first. Why would someone try to take out their own ally?

"Eren!!" You screamed. 

He looked over to you as you attached your gear onto his shoulder. You quickly glided over to reveal the person but it was too late. Eren's titan form was brought down to the ground. You tumbled into the dirt along with the body. You couldn't see a thing since smoke was surrounding you. 

"Eren!?"  

As you quickly followed the shoulders of the titan body to the neck, you witnessed something: Someone was pulling out Eren from the nape of the titan's neck. 

"Hey!! What squad are you from!?" You shouted from the bottom. 

The unknown figure gave you a quick glance before it chops off Eren's arms and legs to free him from the strong flesh and vanished into the fog. 

"Hey!!!" You rushed over to see that no one was there. You quickly searched for Eren but found nothing. Eren's titan was dissipating. 

"Eren!?!?" You looked over to see that the figure who was holding onto Eren was attached to the colossal titan. Erwin's squad struggled to take down the Colossal titan because of its defense mechanism. 

"Give Eren back!! Don't take him away!!!" You demanded. 

You noticed that there were less titans surrounding you thanks to the colossal titan. But unfortunately, the giant managed to kill almost half of the people who were still alive. You couldn't see Reiner anymore either. 

There was steam seeping through the colossal titan. You couldn't see. Plus it was too hot for your skin to bear. You stayed out of harm's way, only to see the colossal walk away from the battlefield. 

"They're getting away!! Make sure we capture the Colossal titan!!" Hanji announced. 

You already took a head start to save Eren. God knows where Reiner went. 

The ground starts to shake. You turned around to view an aberrant that seemed different from the rest, like no other. It was your first time seeing it. 

_A female titan...._

 

 _"_ (First)! Watch out!!" You hear someone calling out.

You froze in fear and awry that you didn't know what you were doing. It was dashing towards you, stomping the ground. You didn't know what to do. Your death rate was rising. You couldn't take any chances. She was coming and all you could think of was attach your gear onto her skin. And that's exactly what you did.

The female titan continued onward as you tailed her. You tried to go for the nape of the neck however, it was strange because her weak spot was frozen in crystal. It was so unusual. But that was when you concluded that this was no aberrant, but a female shifter.

"(First)!! Let go! She'll kill you!" Moblit tried to catch up with his horse, warning you from behind.

"What?" You looked away to find a safe way to get off the ride. You loosened your wire to get a safe distance from the female titan. Your spear was still attached to her. You couldn't detach it. Your eyes widened as you made eye contact with the female. One large hand grabbed your spear to hold you in place. She slightly smiled with eyes boring into yours. 

In a swift movement, she pulls you towards her and captures you in her palm, attempting to crush you. You struggled at first but suddenly, you were able to cut your way out and free yourself. It was the first time you've escaped from the grasp of a titan without any assistance. Again, you've never seen anything like it. The female titan was much smarter than the others. Not to mention fast.

The colossal titan was still walking from the scene. You understood it. The female titan was trying to buy some time to separate the squads from Eren. You were shocked to understand that they had plans for you as well. You fell from the sky, finally free from the female titan that once challenged you to a game of death. You were glad that you escaped but it costed you fractured arm and a few broken ribs, plus your gear.

Your face was planted into the shaking ground. The female still ran, ignoring your existence. 

"(First)!!" Moblit shouted from afar.

You can hear the horse trot his way to you. 

"(First), can you hear me??" Moblit jumped off and rushed to aid you.

"Moblit..." Your eyes were closed. Every breath you took gave you great pain due to your bone fragments that were crushed.

"We lost Eren and Reiner...." You turned to the female titan who was nothing but a single speck from your vision. 

"I know." Moblit held you close. You felt frustrated that you were separated from Eren. You couldn't bear to lose him at all. But you did. And you failed to save him.

"The colossal titan disappeared. All we can see is that female titan... It must be the experiments that Eren was talking about." Moblit informed you.

"Yeah..." You hid your face in his chest, refusing to comprehend that Eren was taken away from you.

 


	50. Betrayal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: contains spoilers from the manga.

"Annie! Bert! Why the hell are you doing this??" 

"What are you talking about? We're here to save you and Seven."

"Are you guys really here to save us!?? Or is it because that old man told you to get us back!??"

"He told us Reiner."

"..... Aren't you guys tired of killing and kidnapping??"

"What are you talking about Reiner? We were created to kill and take. It's always been like that since the beginning."

"But that can change Annie, Dammit!! It's not too late to turn into a good guy!--"

"Reiner, no one is a good guy. Not even you. Not even Seven."

"He has a name now, Annie."

"You gave him a name?"

".... Yeah..."

"Seven doesn't need a name. Just a number."

"Well you know what Annie, I just gave him a name and you can't do anything about it--"

"Reiner! Don't say that to her!" 

"Shut it Bert!"

 

"Ngh..."

 

"Hey, he's up."

\------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Eren shook his head to see himself wrapped in someone's arms. His arms were aching and his vision was nothing but a blur.

"Go ahead. Try talking to him." Reiner motioned his head to Berthold.

The tall man knelt down and hesitantly spoke.

"H-Hi, Seven." He spoke nervously.

 

Eren's eyes were wide open to view Bert's face. He struggled to back away from him but he was secured in Annie's arms.

"Where am I? What are you guys doing here?!" Eren asked.

Bert glanced at Annie who seemed unimpressed with the fact that Eren was actually communicating with them.

Eren's hands were tied behind his back and Reiner's arms were completely cut off.

"We're here to take you back, Seven--"

"I don't want to go back, Bert!" Eren shouted. 

The young man looked up to meet the woman's beautiful blue eyes boring into his.

"A-Annie??"

"We're going to take you back. I'm gonna to make sure you forget everything." Annie spoke in a soft yet harsh tone.

"I'm not going back! I want to go home!" Eren struggled to get out of Annie's hold but she only embraced him tighter from behind. They sat down together on a big branch that can take their weight. 

"Eren! Tell them what they need to hear! You were treated kindly by those humans, right??" Reiner's voice reached him through his loud grunts.

"Tell them that the survey corps or whatever is trying to find a cure to turn titans into human beings!"

"Annie, you have to believe me!" Eren tried to convince her.

"Oh, really? Then why is he on our side?" Annie asked.

"W-What?"

Annie grabs Eren's face and turned it to his right side, where she revealed the man who he strongly hated.

"Why is he telling me otherwise, **'Eren'**?" Annie whispered.

Eren couldn't believe that the man standing before him was no other than Levi himself, flesh and alive. He stood on a branch of the tall tree with his arms crossed.

"Levi??" Eren yelled.

"Why??!"

"I believe that power is everything, Eren. I believe that we are too weak to exist in this world. It's time we say goodbye." Levi explained.

"What are you trying to say Levi!? That you betrayed everyone!??" Eren screamed.

"I want to get rid of you and the rest of the humanity who are not fit to live in this cruel world. We are all against each other."

"Then what about (First)!?"

"She means nothing to me now. I realized that love is nothing but a stage in life. Something I will never have.... The only way to survive and live in peace is to become one of _them_." 

"Them?" 

Confused, Eren looked at Reiner and Bert, hoping that they would understand and explain it to him but as soon as he returned his eyes to his supposedly superior, he knew exactly what it meant.

"You.... Want to become a monster...?" Eren stared at him with angry eyes.

"It's his decision. He will gamble his life to become one of us." Annie mumbled.

"Seven, j-just think about it. Those people out there are only using you because you have power." Bert stuttered.

"Think Eren. Think really hard of why cadet (First) loves you.... So she can gain your trust and use you to kill." Levi spoke.

"No matter where you are, you will never be human." 

"Don't listen to them, Eren!"

Eren turned to Reiner who attempted to take over.

"Eren! (First) isn't using you! Seriously, who has the time to trick people nowadays?? Do you really think she is that type of person? If you know the real (First), then don't listen to that traitor!!!"  
  


"I've known (First) longer than you, Eren. She always wondered why we haven't taken a huge step to success. And when she met you, she just had to convince the court to turn you into us. And why did the court accept you? Because (First) believes that you can be of use to kill titans. She's only using you as a shield."

"Eren don't..!!!!"

"Titans were once humans too Eren. But (First) doesn't care about that... She's killed many titans before she met you. She doesn't care whether titans are human beings. She's a killer too. Why do you think she joined the Survey Corps?--"

"Eren...!!!!"

**_"You are nothing but a pawn, Eren."_ **

 

"Eren don't listen to him!!!!"

".......... A pawn.......?" He dropped his head down in shame, his bangs covering his eyes of humiliation.

Eren remembered there was a time (first) had taught him how to play chess. She explained to him what each piece is and what their roles are. Eren was probably the worse at playing chess but he knew that teamwork and sacrifice is the only way of winning the game. Though he always wondered why he loses.

_"You win some. And you lose some. That's how the game goes, Eren."_

 

(First's) voice was ringing in his head. He was speechless. He began to believe in that. He began to believe in Levi's words. If that is how the real world is, then....

 

 

**"I'm going back to the factory...."**

 

_Eren whispered._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically Annie could care less if Levi joined their squad. She can always take him down if he does succeed to become a shifter. I mean, who knows, Levi can be some short ass titan.


	51. Plunge into Darkness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since TheWretchedEgg suggested a scene, I decided to put it in this chapter. Here you go!~ Thanks to The WretchedEgg for offering me your ideas!! :D

Your ears began to ache from the sound of people. Your eyes fluttered open, scanning your surrounding. And when everything was clear as day, you knew where you were...

Happy faces were displayed. Joy was spread from everywhere. There were many familiar figures  who danced and sang. Everyone was here. You were brought back to the time where everyone had neglected death to spend some time together before a huge expedition. It was more of a party to celebrate their eternal farewell to the world. You began to smile, feeling that you've been hibernating for centuries, only to wake from your slumber to witness your friends joining together as one for the last time. But it seems you have forgotten something.... You couldn't quite remember what you were doing or dreaming. But alas, you find yourself in the middle of the rarest parties that occur in the headquarters.

You walked through the crowd of subordinates who were happily humming to one another, raising up their mugs, swaying their hips from left to right. You looked both ways as you made your way to wherever. You have no idea who to find or where to go. But suddenly, you stopped to see something unusual, something that did not blend within the atmosphere of the party. A young pale-looking boy sat down on the chair in a gloomy expression. You studied his form. It was someone you barely recognized. You wondered why he was undergoing so much depression. You could easily tell just by looking at his eyes. Noticing this, the young boy glanced up at you in the crowd, his natural frown plastered onto his face. You dared not to look away. As did he. For a moment, motion was occurring around you and the boy himself. You were both frozen in time, exchanging blank stares. 

"Why does he look so lonely?" You thought to yourself.

 

"Oi! (First)!!" Almost everyone was silent after your name was called out from a group of people.

You turned to see a middle-aged man that you knew very well. A friend of yours, to be exact.

"Me?" You pointed your chest, mouthing the words inaudibly.

"Yeah you! Come up here!" The man climb up onto a table, gesturing for you to come.

You shook your head with a nervous smile, almost laughing to yourself.

"D'aww c'mon! I know you have talent!" He called to you once more. The people around you were pressuring you to go up there as well.

You gave the young depressed boy one more glance before nodding your head.

"..... Alright..." You sighed, shrugging your shoulders.

Everyone applauded and whistled, making way for you to climb onto the table with the man.

"Everyone! Listen up! This here, is the strongest woman alive! We've been together for about 4 years now and she's looking better than ever!" The man announced, earning a huge amount of claps and cheers.

You were now the center of attention, feeling a bit embarrassed by this, you stood on the corner of the table, awkwardly standing there.

"Ladies and gentlemen! I bring you the singer and dancer: (First)!!!" 

Your jaw dropped, shaking your head while everyone shouted your name in repetition. Before your friend jumped off the table, you snatched his arm and pulled him back.

"But I-I don't know how to sing!! Plus, I really suck at dancing!!" You whispered.

"Hey, everything will be okay! This may be your last performance for some people but it's the least you could do..."

That was all he said before getting off the table, leaving you shocked, still standing on the center of attention. You played with your fingers as they continued to shout out to your name, raising their fists and glasses. You had to think of a song quick. You didn't really know much yet, you started singing to whatever comes naturally.

"Aaaaaaa sailor went to sea sea sea to see what he could see see see but all that he could see see see was the bottom of the deep blue sea sea sea!!" You sung out loud.

Everyone loved your brief performance, but that was only the beginning. You made eye contact with the young boy who is now paying attention to you from afar. It was time for you to let of yourself, even though you really didn't want to.

"Aaaaaa sailor went to chop chop chop to see what he could chop chop chop but all that he could chop chop chop was the bottom of the deep blue chop chop chop!!~" You began swaying your body around while the people clapped their hands to the beat, ready to sing along with you.  

"Aaaaa sailor went to say say say to see what he could say say say but all that he could say say say was the bottom of the deep blue say say say!!" Your feet starts to move on its own as you danced freely  with bright red cheeks, skipping on the table, spinning around and around. As you said before, you suck at dancing, which was in fact, true. From everyone's perspective, you were dancing like a little child playing around. You stopped singing while the people you've known continued on without you, singing louder and louder, stomping their feets. You created a group of choir singers to do your part of the bargain from looking like a goofball on stage. You've never felt this embarrassed before. You turned to see the young boy once more. His frown gradually turned upside down, almost from ear to ear. He was holding back his laugh from seeing you dance like that. His cheeks were red like yours. You continued on randomly dancing on the table while the singing became faster and faster. You had difficulty of picking up the pace but once the song had ended, everyone cheered for you. The young boy had finally broke out a small laugh from his lips, attempting to hide his smile with his thumb. 

You panted from all that adrenaline of dancing, watching the boy stare at you...... But suddenly, you began to frown.... Your ears could no longer hear anything. You focused on the boy. You've seen him before somewhere. The boy stopped laughing but kept his glowing smile. Those eyes....

 

".............. E-Eren?...." 

 

 

 

 

 

Within a split second, everything came flowing into your head. The memories that you finally remembered were now with you. You remembered what you were doing. You remembered where you were going. _You remembered who you had to protect....._

 

"Eren!??" You jumped down from the table, unable to see him. You searched straight on through the crowd of joy until you reached the table in which the boy had sat.

He was gone by the time you were there.

"Eren!??" You looked around to see that he was nowhere to be found.

"Eren!!!" You became worried and scared.

 

"EREN!" You screamed out.

 

No one responded to you. 

 

You walked away from the party to search for Eren. You hoped that he was outside where the two of you can be alone together, to _reunite. A_ s soon as you exited the headquarters, you found a dark figure standing out in the open, facing your direction. You did not hesitate to approach the figure. You rushed to the person with open arms. 

"Eren! I-I thought I lost you!! Oh God!!! Thank goodness you're okay!!" You were overwhelmed with tears in your eyes. You weren't sure if they were tears of happiness or worriedness. 

"Come on, let's go back inside--"

 

_"I'm not Eren...."_

 

 

You quickly pulled away and looked up to see the face. It really was Eren. But for some reason, he was acting strange.

"W-What are you talking about? Of course you are." You smiled nervously.

"No." He shook his head, hovering his hands over your cold ones.

"I am number Seven." He spoke in a gentle tone.

"I'm terribly sorry. You got the wrong guy...." He took a couple steps back to give himself some space.

"What do you mean??" You questioned him. Fear began to take over your body. You felt as if you were having a hard time breathing.

"Miss, please excuse me while I find my precious (First)." He brushed his shoulder passed you, walking away.

 

You froze in state of shock. You quickly turned around to stop him.

"I am (First)!" You claimed.

He stopped in his tracks to scrutinize your body.

"I'm sorry but you are not (First)." He continued on walking without ever stopping. 

"W-Wait! Wait Eren!!" You wanted to catch up to him but for some reason, you couldn't find him. The air was getting colder and the night was getting darker. You were consumed in a pool of darkness. You couldn't see a thing, yet, you ran up ahead, hoping to find some light.

"Eren!!! Where are you!!! EREN!!!" You shouted until your lungs were no longer good.

"Eren...." You were running out of breath. You didn't want to stop now. 

 

 

"AHHH!!" You shrieked, jolting up from your bed. You began to feel a sharp pain from your stomach and chest. 

"(F-First)!! Calm down!" You felt a hand tugging your free arm.

You searched the room to find yourself in an infirmary. 

"It's okay.... Everything's going to be alright for you (First)..." 

It was the sound of Moblit's voice. You sighed in relief.... You realized you were just experiencing a bad dream which occurred to you almost every single night, since the day Eren was kidnapped and taken away from you.

You sobbed at the thought of Eren, allowing your head to fall back down as you cry in shame. 

"Eren...." You whimpered while Moblit sat back down, giving in to sympathy.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I updated late at night so I'm sure there's a lot of errors in this chapter hahaaaa.


	52. The Returning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING!: Strong language in the beginning of this chapter!

_"I'LL KILL YOU!! ARGH!!"_

_"Bert, go get the syringe, now."_

_"Ah.... Y-Yes sir..."_

_"LET GO OF ME! I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU!"_

_"Shut the hell up kid."_

_"GO FUCK YOURSELF!! LET ME GO!!"_

_"Bert! For christ sake! Hurry up with that damn syringe!"_

_"B-But sir, which color??"_

_"YOU ARE SO FUCKING DEAD! I'M GONNA---"_

_"Get the red one."_

_"... Wh-What!??"_

_"You heard me! Get the red syringe! Come on, give it here!"_

 

_"I WILL KILL YOU ALL!!!!!"_

 

_\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

 

Eren woke up with half-lidded eyes. One side of his face felt sore. He groaned, attempting to move his muscles. He began to remember where he left off after everything turned black. He panicked, taking quick breaths, trying to break free from leather belts that tied him up. 

"What the--?"

Light was shined upon him, it blinded his eyes for a while. He turned his head from side to side to study his surrounding. It felt so familiar. Everything was clear yet dark. The only source of light was the one shining on him. He was certainly in the center of attention. His entire body was strapped onto a table, from his shoulders down. He felt a tiny bit lightheaded, unable to breathe normally for his chest was tightly squeezed by the belts like a snake wrapping it's own being onto it's prey to suffocate them. He cringed at the light beam and squinted a couple times before his eyes got used to it. His hands felt sticky between each fingers. It was a sign of knowing that he had done a good deed, something he should have done a long time ago.

 

"Oh, you're up."

 

Eren swiftly followed that voice. There stood a casual man with the same old frown and crossed arms.

"Levi..." Eren growled, shooting a disgusted look at him. 

"Please excuse me for putting you down like that. You were acting so rash, I had to stop you." Levi answered.

Eren was too busy to argue with Levi. He had to figure out how he was going to free his tamed body.

"..... It's time for me to do the right thing for once." Levi stated.

"You've always done the right thing up until now Levi!" Eren grunted, violently wiggling around to loosen the tight belts around his chest area.

"You're wrong, Eren."

"What's so special about becoming a titan!?? What's so good about killing innocent people who are purposely born into this world!?" 

 

"Tell me Levi!! Tell me why!?" Eren screamed out, his veins extended throughout his arms to his hands. 

"It's called bad luck. Ever heard of it?" Levi responded.

"We are born, and then we die. That's our main purpose in life, Eren. EIther way, we'll all die in the end."

"But there's something more than that! Even beyond life itself!!!" 

"Yeah. I know." Levi looked down at his hands, squeezing them.

"There's one favor that I'd like you to do for me---"

"Shut your mouth! I don't want to hear you anymore! Urgh!!!" No matter how hard he tried, Eren could not break free.

"You need to listen to me very carefully."

"Why should I?!" 

"..... Look, they're going to give you a dose of that red syringe you mentioned back in HQ. I'm gonna need you to fight it once they inject it inside of you."

"What??" 

"Good luck, Eren." 

Levi turned around to leave the room, abandoning the weak and bruised boy to scream out the man's name.

"LEVI! I'LL KILL YOU!" 

The door is slammed from behind, leaving the boy nothing but silence to accompany him.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

(4 Hours ago)

 

"What!?" Reiner stumbled onto the thick branch in shock. 

"You heard him, Reiner. Seven wants to go back to the factory. So much for your sweet talk and shit." Annie replied.

"Then it's settled. We'll.... Go back." Bert lowered his face to hide it from Reiner.

"Eren! What about (FIrst)!?" Reiner tried to reach out for the boy who had surrendered his entire being.

"I said, I'm going back to the factory." Eren avoided his eye contact, turning away to bury his face on one side of Annie's arms.

"Berthold, take Reiner. I'll be taking Eren." Annie commanded the tall young man.

"R-Right."

"I can't believe you Eren. You threw her away just like that. She wasn't special to you after all. She means nothing to you, is that right?" Reiner was disappointed in Eren for having to accept their "welcome back" invitation. 

 

"I have to go back." Eren mumbled.

"Obedient as always. Like the dog he is." Levi commented before they were headed to the factory from miles away.

Along the way, everyone was quiet. Reiner gave in as well, having no one to side with him to go against their favors. He was all alone. He had lost. And he was too weak. But that was giving him too much credit. The fault was also within Eren. Reiner truly believed he could surpass the rest of the titan shifters with the help of Eren but he still has a lot to learn. Annie is as sharp as a knife. It seemed as if she was the leader who was running this joint. Even though she was a female, she was probably the most agile and fit in her titan form. Not to mention her accuracy and speed. To be honest, Reiner feared Annie ever since they met. He had never gotten personal with her, as did she. The only one closest to him, was Berthold. However, Bert was too scared to go against Annie. He would never do anything that would upset the threat. And if he did, he will definitely see the end of it.

 

It was a long way to the factory. After a couple of hours of getting out of the forest and into another, they finally reached their own territory. Levi had already abandoned his gear, receiving a ride on Annie's palm instead. He was quite unfamiliar with the scenery which looked rotten and dead. The old factory did not seem welcoming at all. It was built on an open field where green grass was replaced with shrubs and weeds. This was the first time Levi had witnessed a small building where titans dared not to set foot on. If the factory had no walls to defend against the titans then....

 

 _"It's the man who started it all...."_ Levi thought.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	53. Confidence

"You'll feel a slight pain once we inject this inside you. Annie has to prepare the other things first. Y'know, i-in case you become a failure. So we'll wait for her to come back after she's done patching up Kenny." Bert explained as he pulls out a red syringe.

 

"Hn." Levi shrugged in a calm manner though he was tied to a surgery table, secured with brown belts.

 

"........ So.... You guys are the good guys, huh?" Bert nervously laughed, as he fiddled with the syringe.

 

"Good or bad, it doesn't matter." The man sighed.

 

"I see." Bert frowns, looking away.

 

"W-Why do you want to become a titan shifter?" Bert asks.

 

"Why do you?" Levi raised a brow in confusion, unsure if he's understanding the question coming from a titan shifter himself.

 

W-Well... This is a red syringe. Y-You do know what'll happen if I-I give this to you, right?" Bert stuttered.

 

"It doesn't matter to me. Nothing does." Levi closes his eyes, ready for the syringe intake.

 

Berthold stood beside him, feeling hesitant. He's done this kind of thing many times in his lifetime. Levi was surely a strange one. Usually, when Bert prepares a syringe, the people who were captured were always struggling, begging, crying for freedom. But Levi's expression tells Bert otherwise.

 

"....... Why is that?" Bert asked curiously.

 

 

"Your hands are shaking." Levi indicated.

 

"Hm? Oh.... R-right." 

 

"Reiner's a good friend, isn't he?" Levi commented.

 

"Huh? Oh, yeah. He's a very good friend. He usually treats everyone nicely." Bert complimented.

 

"Do you wish to have confidence like him?" 

 

"I do. Trust me, I really do. I admire Reiner. He's my best friend and... I'd give anything to be like him." Bert quietly laughs.

 

"You can start now." Levi suggested.

 

Bert took a moment to process Levi's words. It felt weird talking to a human being who doesn't seem afraid. Honestly, this was the first time he's had a comforting conversation with someone in years. Maybe decades.

 

"I-I can't. It's too late for that." Bert knitted his brows together, full of doubt and disappointment.

 

"I see.... Sucks to be you." Levi casually commented.

 

"Wait a minute, W-Who are you to tell me what to do??" Bert felt a bit insulted.

 

"I am human. You're not my superior, are you?" 

 

"I'm not listening to you anymore! What are you trying to do? Lower my self esteem??" Bert suddenly burst.

 

"Yes." 

 

Levi turns towards Bert, wearing a serious glare towards the shy man.

 

**"If you can stop shoving a stick up your ass, maybe you'd grow some fucking balls to stop this shitty world from the extinction of humanity."**

He spoke in a dark voice, which surprised Berthold.

 

"W-Wha....?" 

 

_**"You don't have what it takes to be a man. You're just a fucking pretentious wimp. A coward who refuses to follow his own beliefs. So continue on doing whatever the fuck everyone says. You're a disgusting kiss ass."** _

Bert couldn't tell if Levi was insulting him or scolding him. Either way, for some reason, Bert listened to his words.

 

He couldn't think of anything to respond to Levi's opinion on him. Everything he described about him seemed..... Right.

 

"Alright, everything's all set. Bert, go on and give him the red syringe. We'll see if he's capable of controlling his abilities." Annie comes in with a small kit, preparing to withdraw some blood from Levi. On the other hand, Bert couldn't stop looking at Levi with a frightened expression. As for Levi, he smirked deviously, refusing to look away from Bert.

  
"Bert, are you listening to me?" Annie interrupted.

 

"Huh?" The man finally turns his full attention to the young girl.

 

"Prepare the syringe." Annie rolls up Levi's sleeve to administer his blood with a small syringe.

 

"What's that for?" Levi wondered.

 

"We keep a collection of DNA's to keep a record of the people." Annie answered.

 

"Bert, the syringe. Now." Annie holds down Levi's arm in a firm grip while Bert steadily brings the syringe in contact with Levi's skin.

 

"Okay..... Here goes..." Bert tried to concentrate but for some reason, he couldn't push the plunger. He began to tremble and sweat as he tried to push it down.

 

"Bert, what the hell are you waiting for? Just do it already." Annie sighed impatiently.

 

"I'm... Trying Annie...." 

 

 

_**"You're just a fucking pretentious wimp. A coward who refuses to follow his own beliefs. So continue on doing whatever the fuck everyone says. You're a disgusting kiss ass."** _

 

"Bert, hurry up. Just push the plunger." Annie pressured him.

 

"I know....!" Bert's face was washed with grief and regret of all the things he had been doing. It was all for the sake of a man. Maybe not a man, but a ruthless animal who started all this.

Bert closed his eyes in fear, wishing that he wasn't here right now. He thought long and hard about his sins he had committed. Maybe it's not too late after all...

 

"Jesus Christ, Bert!!---"

 

 

 

**"I CAN'T DO IT!!!'**

 

 


	54. A Different Path

"Bert, what the hell are you doing!?" Annie scowled as she grasped onto Bert's collar, shaking him to make sure he was still sane. Without thinking, Bert shoved the syringe into Annie's neck area, pushing the plunger to inject the substance inside of her. 

"You bastard! What are you trying to do!?" Annie roughly shoved Bert against the wall and backed away, feeling the liquid spread. She couldn't do anything. The serum will definitely corrupt her if she can't find the serum.

"I-I'm sorry Annie!" Bert cowered in fear as Annie starts to feel dizzy, unable to maintain balance on her two feet. She leans against the counter, clawing at her neck yet there was no time to stop it from spreading. 

"What have you done, you idiot!?" Annie yelled as she slams her fist hard against the counter. 

Bert glanced at Levi for a brief moment before he hesitantly stands up on his own.

"Something that I should have done years ago!!" 

Bert lunged towards Annie, landing a hit below her jaw. In a swift movement, she was knocked out cold to the ground, allowing the substance to flow within her body. Bert rushed to release Levi from the clutches of the leather belts. 

"What are you doing? Are you an idiot?" Levi asked.

"I-I don't know what I'm doing but I just have to go along with it! Just do whatever you can and get the hell out of here!" Bert explained.

"What about you?" Levi jumped out of bed, feeling his wrists and arms.

"I-I'll try to buy you some time and do something about the boss and...." Bert gave the unconscious Annie a sympathetic look before Levi rests a hand on the tall man's shoulder.

"You're not gonna do that. You're coming with me, you idiot." Levi demanded as he drags BVert out of the room, leaving Annie.

"B-But--!"

"If we want the same thing, we're gonna have to team up. Do you understand?" Levi scolded him.

Bert took a moment to think before he obediently nods as tears fall from his cheeks. He tried to wipe them away however they kept falling.

"I want this to end." Bert commented.

"Then let's go. We gotta find Eren. How can we get there from here?" Levi rushed him.

"I-It's this way...." Bert made a gesture to have Levi follow him from behind as they sprinted down the quiet empty hallways.

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"It was my plan to have Levi and Eren kidnapped...."

 

Erwin silently informs Hanji as they watched you sleep from across the room.

"W-What do you mean?"

"Levi was willing to do this alone. We had to make sure that Eren doesn't know so that it'd look real. Levi will lead us to their hideout. That way, it gives them an easy access inside. Levi says that he'll try to infiltrate their hideout for a cure." The tall blonde explained.

"But how will we know? Levi can't leave us any bread crumbs so we can follow his tracks."

"I told him to make a specific symbol on the trees. If we continue to find those symbols that he carved, we will definitely be able to reach them." Erwin spoke.

"What does the symbol even look like?" Hanji asked.

"It's just a slash mark that is slanted upwards. You'll know it when we get to the forest.... Levi made sure to leave his cape on a tree that will lead us to the symbols that he's been carving." Erwin informed.

"Are you going to say anything about it to... Y'know.. Her?" Hanji cautiously points at your sleeping form as Erwin slightly shakes his head with a smile.

"No. She can't ever know. Even Levi doesn't want her to know because....."

"What? What's wrong?"

"I doubt Levi and Eren can make it out alive."

 

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Eren constantly struggled to escape from the table yet it only caused him anxiety and deep stress. He finally stops and stares into the light, eventually closing his eyes. 

"I won't stop... I will definitely get out of here. I'm gonna kill that bastard." He calmly told himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohhhh shit I almost forgot about this story I'm sorry. This kind of thing won't happen again. I'll be sure to update and finish this story omg I'm deaddddd.


End file.
